Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the proportion of Afghan warlords who have (a) supported and (b) opposed the Taliban.

Kim Howells: The term "warlords" is most often used to describe militia commanders, or others exercising influence in the provinces, not appointed by the central Government. The vast majority of warlords opposed the Taliban regime, and many played an active role in the regime's overthrow in 2001, including in some cases by contributing forces to the Northern Alliance.

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the role of warlords in the political order in Afghanistan.

Kim Howells: The Government assesses that the negative influence of "warlords" in Afghanistan's political process is gradually diminishing. Those who chose to embrace the new democratic process were required to cut all links with militia groups before putting themselves forward as candidates at the September 2005 parliamentary and provincial elections. Those who still remain outside the democratic process are finding their influence reduced by nation-wide disarmament programmes and the growing control exercised by centrally-appointed Provincial Governors and Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police forces. But this is a long process—democratic institutions, although now established, are fragile and the political process of resolving violent conflict will take time to have effect, though the Government of Afghanistan is determined to see it through.

Ascension Island

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the human rights position of Ascension islanders in respect of (a) rights of abode, (b) ownership of property and (c) appeal rights in cases of deportation; and whether rights differ between native-born and immigrant islanders.

Douglas Alexander: There is no indigenous population, or "islanders", on Ascension Island. People working and living there do so for the duration of their contracts. None of those individuals currently working and living on Ascension, whether born on the island or not, have the right of abode or the right to own property. The human rights of those currently on Ascension Island are protected by those human rights instruments which have been extended to the island, including the European Convention on Human Rights. Procedures relating to deportation for breach of the immigration rules are governed by the Entry Control Ordinance. There is a right to make representations to the Governor against any deportation order.

Ascension Island

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Ascension Islanders have reached retirement or the end of their contracts in each of the last 10 years; and how many have been allowed to remain on the island thereafter.

Douglas Alexander: There is no indigenous population, or "islanders", on Ascension Island. People working and living there do so for the duration of their contracts. Figures on retirement or termination of contracts are a matter for the individual organisations based on the Island and are not centrally held. A small number, less than 5, have remained on the Island on the expiration of their contract. Their cases are under review.

Ascension Island

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what consultations took place with Ascension Island User Organisations before the preliminary summit meeting between islanders and officials of Her Majesty's Government.

Douglas Alexander: There is no indigenous population, or "islanders", on Ascension Island. People working and living there do so for the duration of their contracts. The Government have regular contacts with representatives of the principle Use organisations as part of their ongoing work in administering Ascension Island.

British Virgin Islands

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's expenditure on internal security and policing was for the British Virgin Islands in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004 and (d) 2005; and what expenditure is planned for 2006.

Douglas Alexander: The following sums have been spent on policing and internal security in the British Virgin Islands during 2003–04, 2004–05 and 2005–06 financial years.
	As the British Virgin Islands also receive further support from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office through a number of regional initiatives including training/exchange programmes and courses, as well as receiving on-going support from FCO funded advisers, figures for the cross-Territory (regional) support of security initiatives is also included.
	
		
			   £ 
			  FCO funding for the British Virgin Islands Cross-Territory (regional) funding 
		
		
			 2003–04 345,039 1,013,165 
			 2004–05 141,399 687,976 
			 2005–06 8,198 957,045 
		
	
	The above figures do not, however, include local expenditure made at Post through the Governor's Delegated Fund. Figures for 2005–06 are anticipated. Allocations for 2006–07 have not yet been made.
	The 2002–03 figures are not included as they are not immediately available. I will therefore write to my hon. Friend with this information as soon as it becomes available and will place a copy in the Library of the House.

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he will respond to the letter from the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam dated 15 March 2005, on behalf of Mary Stevenage, regarding human rights abuses in Cuba.

Douglas Alexander: holding answer 2 February 2006
	Although a reply was prepared to the hon. Member's letter, for reasons we are looking into, it does not appear to have issued. This has now been rectified and a response was sent on 1 February.

European Anti-fraud Office

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures are being discussed in the EU to develop the European Anti-Fraud Office in preparation for future transformation into the European Public Prosecutor, as referred to in OJ C122, volume 48, 20 May 2005; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Official Journal C122, volume 48, 20 May 2005 refers to the European Anti-Fraud Office's June 2003-July 2004 Activity Report. It contains a reference to the potential creation of a European Public Prosecutor's Office under the European Constitutional Treaty. Under the terms of the Treaty, the creation of a European Public Prosecutor would not be automatic, as it would first require the consent of every member state.
	No measures are currently under discussion to prepare for a European Public Prosecutor. The UK has made clear that it remains unconvinced of the need for an EPP, whether under the Constitutional Treaty or the current treaties.

Iraq

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the incidence of corruption with reconstruction projects in Iraq.

Kim Howells: There have been several comprehensive assessments of financial management of the Iraqi reconstruction effort, the most prominent of which is the series of reports published by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Given concerns about levels of corruption in Iraq generally, the Government does not fund Iraqi institutions directly. All UK reconstruction programmes are monitored continuously, and where we have had any financial or management concerns we have taken action to address them.
	The UK is committed to working with the Iraqi Government, alongside the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other donors, to improve accountability and transparency in Iraq's public finances. Iraq is making progress in developing its anti-corruption institutions. These now include a Board of Supreme Audit, Inspector Generals resident in each Ministry and a Commission for Public Integrity, which can refer cases to the Central Criminal Court of Iraq. In addition, our efforts include encouraging Iraq to adopt international legal frameworks and standards in natural resource management, including the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Nepal

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the recent reports of human rights violations in Nepal.

Kim Howells: The UK has made repeated statements deploring human rights violations by both the Nepalese security forces and the Maoists. We have been deeply troubled by the Maoists' decision to end their ceasefire and by their return to violence. In January 2006 the Maoists carried out over 40 bomb attacks, 350 kidnappings, and engaged in 70 clashes with security forces. This has resulted in large numbers of deaths and injuries amongst the royal Nepalese Army, the police and civilians. We have also been gravely concerned by human rights abuses carried out by the security forces and by the Government's infringements of civil liberties and democratic freedoms, and by the arrest of a large number of political party leaders and activists.
	In response to events in January, the UK has joined the EU in issuing a statement available at:
	http://www.eu2006.at/en/News/CFSP_Statements/January/2701Nepal.html
	in which we said:
	"The EU strongly condemns the use of force to suppress the Nepalese people's exercise of fundamental rights, including the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. The EU calls upon the King, the Government of Nepal and the Security Forces to immediately restore all political and civil liberties in accordance with Nepal's international obligations, immediately release all political prisoners and human rights defenders, and ensure that political and civil rights, including freedom of assembly and freedom of speech, can be exercised peacefully. The EU strongly condemns the resumption of Maoist violence, including the recent murder of an election candidate. The EU underlines the obligation of all parties to fully respect international humanitarian law, including by way of protecting civilians and facilitating the access of humanitarian organisations seeking to aid affected persons."

Non-proliferation Treaty

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps are being taken to strengthen the non-proliferation treaty in accordance with the December 2003 European Union strategy against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and if he will make a statement.

Kim Howells: The Council of the European Union's "Six-monthly Progress Report on the implementation of Chapter III of the EU Strategy against the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction" contains comprehensive details of steps being undertaken to strengthen the non-proliferation treaty. The report is published on the Council of the European Union's website at:
	http://register.consilium.eu.int/pdf/en/06/st05/st05279. en06.pdf

Overseas Territories

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his Department's expenditure on internal security and policing was for each of the overseas territories in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004 and (d) 2005; and what expenditure is planned for 2006.

Douglas Alexander: The following table details recorded expenditure for internal security and policing in each of the overseas territories during the financial years 2003–04 and 2004–05. The 2005–06 figures are anticipated. Allocations have not yet been made for the next financial year. As a number of cross-territory (regional) policing and security initiatives are supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, these figures are also included. The following table does not, however, record local expenditure at post which may have been supported through the Governors'/Administrators' delegated funds.
	Neither the British Indian Ocean territory nor the sovereign based areas of Cyprus have been included in the table as this funding is provided by the Ministry of Defence.
	
		
			£ 
			 Territory 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Anguilla 148,629 152,327 361,879 
			 Ascension Island 101,000 0 0 
			 Bermuda 0 0 0 
			 British Virgin Islands 345,039 141,399 8,198 
			 Cayman Islands 0 20,843 45,000 
			 Falkland Islands 6,326 0 0 
			 Gibraltar 110,000 125,000 45,000 
			 Montserrat 130,117 115,468 13,321 
			 Pitcairn (1)170,000 175,995 154,460 
			 South Georgia 0 0 0 
			 St. Helena 30,577 253,702 263,000 
			 Tristan da Cunha 0 20,546 0 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands 15,900 122,670 32,000 
			 Cross territory (regional) funding 1,013,165 687,976 957,045 
			 Total 2,070,753 1,815,926 1,879,903 
		
	
	(1) Estimate
	The figures for 2002–03 are not included as they are not immediately available. I will therefore write to my hon. Friend with this information as soon as it becomes available and will place a copy in the Library of the House.

Overseas Territories

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was contributed by (a) his Department and (b) Overseas Territories' Governments towards policing and internal security in each of the Territories for each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The following table details funding by both the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Overseas Territory Governments on policing and internal security during the past three years. The information on Territory Government spending is not always directly comparable as there are differences in the way that they apportion internal security resourcing.
	
		
			   £ 
			  2003 or 2003–04 2004 or 2004–05 2005 or 2005–06 
			 Territory Local government FCO Local government FCO Local government FCO 
		
		
			 Anguilla(2) 837,582 148,629 932,070 152,327 1,085,286 361,879 
			 Ascension Island 168,138 101,000 176,317 0 n/a 0 
			 Bermuda(2) 25,945,348 0 29,115,042 0 29,821,054 0 
			 British Virgin Islands(2) 5,425,880 345,039 5,439,074 141,399 5,738,419 8,198 
			 Cayman Islands 11,500,000 0 13,500,00 20,843 21,700,000 45,000 
			 Falkland Islands 5,292,526 6,326 5,242,118 0 n/a 0 
			 Gibraltar 8,600,000 110,000 8,400,000 125,000 n/a 45,000 
			 Montserrat(2) 874,000 130,117 895,000 115,468 1,048,000 13,321 
			 Pitcairn 0 (3)170,000 0 175,995 0 154,460 
			 South Georgia(2) 1,360,000 0 1,448,000 0 1,597,000 0 
			 St Helena 450,845 30,577 509,201 253,702 649,971 263,000 
			 Tristan da Cunha(2) 9,802 0 11,136 20,546 9,801 0 
			 Turks and Caicos Islands 4,441,661 15,900 4,601,270 122,670 5,390,482 32,000 
			 Cross-territory (regional) FCO funding 0 1,013,165 0 687,976 0 957,045 
		
	
	(2) Indicates that the Territory Government has provided financial data for a financial year from January to December.
	(3) Estimate.
	I also refer my hon. Friend to the answers I gave him today (UIN 47097 and UIN 47101) to his questions numbered 47097 and 47101 for further information on the FCO's support for internal security and policing.

Palestinian Election

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the implementation of Agreement on Movement and Access between the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority following the recent Palestinian legislative elections.

Kim Howells: We welcome the fact that the Rafah border crossing, with the help of the EU Border Assistance Mission, remained open in the period leading up to and beyond the Palestinian Legislative Council elections. However, we are concerned that the Kami crossing in the northern Gaza Strip has been closed since 15 January; that the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs has reported an increase in the number of obstacles to movement in the West Bank; and that the deadline for the introduction of truck convoys between Gaza and the West Bank by 15 January was missed.
	We call upon Israel to act on its commitments in the Movement and Access agreement and also call upon the new Palestinian Government to commit itself to non-violence, recognition of Israel and acceptance of previous agreements and obligations, including the Roadmap.

United States

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the (a) number and (b) location of interrogation centres operated by the United States Administration;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of US compliance with international human rights laws in the operation of its interrogation centres;
	(3)  whether a UK (a) citizen and (b) resident has been subject to an international rendition by the United States since 1995.

Jack Straw: The Government's efforts to counter the threat of international terrorism must, by their nature, involve a degree of confidentiality. If we are successfully to detect and disrupt terrorist plans and activity, we must protect our sources and methods. We must also protect our counter-terrorism, and wider intelligence, relationships with key allies, including the United States, which are essential to the security of our citizens.
	At the same time, any Government in a democratic society should be as open as it can be without jeopardising security. This principle guides our counter-terrorism policy. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Report of 2005 made clear our view that respect for human rights is vital, not least for long-term success in the fight against terrorism.
	Over the last few weeks, the Government have been as open as possible with the House. Ministers have given a number of oral and written answers to hon. and right hon. Members in connection with "extraordinary rendition". I have also responded to letters from hon. and right hon. Members, and issued two written ministerial statements. I have informed and updated the House as far as possible within the constraints described above, I shall continue to do so.
	There is a great deal of information on the work of the intelligence and security agencies which cannot be divulged publicly. Because of this, and other special circumstances relating to the work of the agencies, Parliament established the Intelligence and Security Committee; much information is provided to this committee in confidence.
	We have no evidence that the United States Government has rendered any detainee through UK territory or airspace (including the overseas territories) during the present United States Administration (i.e. since January 2001), and we are clear that it would not do so without our permission.
	US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's statement of 5 December made clear that the US Government has for decades rendered terrorist suspects from one country to another, and set out the basis on which it does so. Except in so far as UK responsibilities or obligations are engaged by such renditions (for example, because a detainee passes through UK territory), this is not a matter for the UK Government. Like any other country, the UK can only be responsible for compliance with its own legal obligations and responsibilities. My written ministerial statement of 20 January summarised what we know of renditions through UK territory or airspace since May 1997. It is a matter of public record that a number of UK citizens, and non-UK citizens formerly resident in the UK, have been transferred to Guantanamo Bay (whence all the UK citizens have since been returned to the UK). We are not aware that any other UK citizens have been the subject of an international rendition since 1995. Given the open nature of our society, however, with huge flows of foreigners into and out of the UK, we cannot be sure whether any other non-UK citizens formerly resident in the UK have subsequently been the subject of international rendition.
	It is also a matter of public record that the US Government has operated facilities in which terrorist suspects may be detained and questioned in Afghanistan since 2001, at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 and in Iraq since 2003.
	I have today placed in the Library of the House a copy of my reply to a letter from the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague).

Fair Trade Fortnight

Helen Jones: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what steps are being taken to mark Fair Trade Fortnight in the House.

Nick Harvey: As in previous years, the Refreshment Department will mark the Fairtrade Fortnight (6–19 March 2006) by running a special promotion of Fairtrade goods throughout the House of Commons cafeterias. In addition to those Fairtrade products always available—coffee, tea, chocolate, snack bars and, most recently, sugar—a wider range of biscuits, dried fruits, snack bars and fruit juices will be promoted under the Fairtrade Foundation's banner, "making Fairtrade your habit". The Department has also secured a consignment of Fairtrade bananas and pineapples, which will be offered during the fortnight.

Sexual and Reproductive Health

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what steps the Government has taken with (a) UN partners, (b) EU Governments, (c) the US Administration and (d) other donor Governments to ensure comprehensive sexuality education remains part of HIV prevention programmes;
	(2)  what steps the Government has taken with (a) UN partners, (b) EU Governments, (c) the US Administration and (d) other donor Governments to ensure access to sexual and reproductive health supplies, including condoms, remains part of global HIV programming;
	(3)  what steps the Government has taken with (a) UN partners, (b) EU Governments, (c) the US Administration and (d) other donor Governments to ensure the linkage between sexual and reproductive health and HIV information and services is promoted as part of HIV programming;
	(4)  what steps the Government is taking to raise the profile of linked sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV/AIDS funding, policies and services to combat HIV/AIDS at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session 2006.

Gareth Thomas: The UK uses every opportunity to promote the scaling up of comprehensive and evidence based HIV programming. We know that unprotected sex is the most common cause of infection, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide less than one in five people have access to basic HIV prevention services (including sexual and reproductive health services). This "prevention gap" is fuelling the spread of HIV. Improving access to a comprehensive range of effective HIV prevention information, services and supplies including sex education for young people and condoms for all those who are sexually active, is therefore important and this is what our programmes supports.
	The UK led the support for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) prevention policy "Intensifying HIV prevention" at its June 2005 Programme Coordination Board, which I attended. This policy clearly emphasises the importance of evidence-informed prevention and we took the opportunity in negotiating and agreeing this policy to engage in dialogue with UN partners, European Governments, the US Administration and other donor Governments on the importance of comprehensive sexuality education, linking sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV programmes and access to SRH supplies including female condoms.
	Building on this, as EU president, we steered and secured agreement on the first EU wide policy Statement on HIV Prevention launched on World AIDS day 2005. This affirms the commitment of all 25 European member states to comprehensive and evidence based HIV prevention programming including:
	Universal access to SRH health information and services
	Reliable access to essential SRH supplies including condoms
	Universal access to education and life skills and sexuality education
	Action to confront and address gender-based violence
	We are co-chairing the Universal Access steering group with UNAIDS. This group is helping to ensure that the commitments made at Gleneagles and at the World Summit to develop and implement a package for HIV prevention, treatment and care with the aim of as close as possible to universal access to treatment for all those who need it by 2010 are turned into action. Within this process we continue to emphasise the importance of integrating comprehensive SRH information, services and supplies, including female and male condoms, and sex and sexuality education—into HIV programming.
	We believe that SRH services should play a more effective role in efforts to prevent HIV, but recognise that more resources are needed to do this. DFID has recently commissioned some work to explore how the way we work helps or hinders the linkages between HIV and SRH policy, programming and funding arrangements. The forthcoming United Nations Special Session (UNGASS) in June 2006 will be an important opportunity to highlight the importance of SRH to HIV programming.
	The US does have different policies from the UK in a number of areas related to international development. This is particularly so in HIV prevention and SRH. We have, for example, different positions on issues promoting sexual abstinence and ensuring availability of safe abortion services as well as access to clean needles and syringes as harm reduction measures. There has been discussion of these differences in global and bilateral meetings. We will continue our dialogue with the UN, European Governments, the US Administration and other donors; but we will, as we always have, continue to work with US colleagues to promote country-led evidence-based and effective approaches to tackling the HIV epidemic and we will continue to promote the importance of access to a full range of sexual and reproductive health information, services and supplies.

Sexual and Reproductive Health

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department's total bilateral aid spending was to reproductive health and HIV/AIDS in 2004–05, broken down by sector.

Gareth Thomas: In 2004–05, DFID's bilateral expenditure on projects which were targeting effective reproductive health services was £194 million. This figure is reported in the document entitled 'Statistics on International Development' (SID) 2005 (Table 20), (which is available in the Libraries of the House) and reflects all projects that were recorded as having a primary or significant focus on effective reproductive health services. It should be noted that some of these projects will also have had a primary or significant focus on other areas such as education or health systems development.
	DFID's overall bilateral spend on reproductive health services is likely to be in excess of £194 million, as further money has been spent on reproductive health by multilateral agencies supported by the UK such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organisation, and by partner governments receiving "Poverty Reduction Budget Support" (PRBS) from the UK.
	The expenditure figure for all projects that were shown against the tackling HIV and AIDS marker as having a primary or significant focus is also given in SID (Table 20). However, this does not represent DFID's total bilateral expenditure on HIV and AIDS. A methodology for calculating total expenditure on HIV and AIDS related projects has been developed. Figures for HIV and AIDS expenditure in 2004–05 using this methodology will be available soon.
	When referring to SID table 20 on DFID expenditure it is important to note that data for different markers cannot be added together. This is to avoid double counting of expenditure.

Road Maintenance

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on minor repairs to trunk roads and motorways in the last three years.

Stephen Ladyman: holding answer 31 January 2006
	The motorways and trunks roads of the strategic road network are managed by the Highways Agency, an executive Agency of the Department for Transport. The reporting of the cost of managing these roads is not broken down by category of road. The funding for minor repairs to the strategic network is contained within a wider programme of maintenance, which covers a number of network components such as carriageways, footways, cycle tracks, drainage, street lighting, signs, traffic signals, guard railing, safety fencing and embankment/cutting slopes. It is not possible to report expenditure exclusively for the 'minor repairs' element of a much wider budget. The figures for repairing roads on the network in the last three years are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Maintenance(4) 
		
		
			 2002–03 796 
			 2003–04 726 
			 2004–05 732 
		
	
	(4) Resource and capital expenditure.

Road Traffic Accidents

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) young drivers and (b) passengers of young drivers have been killed in road accidents in the last five years; and what steps the Government are taking to reduce these figures.

Stephen Ladyman: The number of young car drivers, and the number of passengers of young car drivers killed in personal injury road accidents between 2000 and 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available) are shown in the following table.
	
		Young car drivers and passengers of young car drivers killed in personal injury road accidents: 2000–04
		
			  Age of driver 
			  17 to 21 22 to 25 
			  Driver fatalities(5) Passenger fatalities(5) Driver fatalities(5) Passenger fatalities(5) 
		
		
			 2000 195 158 117 72 
			 2001 210 182 123 79 
			 2002 215 157 132 72 
			 2003 228 182 132 78 
			 2004 214 189 144 84 
		
	
	(5) Deaths within 30 days of the accident.
	On measures to reduce these casualties, I refer to my answers to the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Mr. Robertson) on 6 December 2005, Official Report, column 1118W and to my hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Wright) on 14 December 2005, Official Report, column 2023W.

Transport Innovation Fund

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the criteria are for a successful bid to the Transport Innovation Fund.

Karen Buck: The criteria against which allocations will be made from the Transport Innovation Fund are set out in the paper "Transport Innovation Fund: Guidance: January 2006", which was announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport in a written statement on 26 January 2006, Official Report, columns 66–67WS.

Transport Innovation Fund

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the written statement of 26 January 2006, Official Report, columns 66–67WS, on the Transport Innovation Fund, if he will list the schemes which are expected to make a major contribution to national productivity for which existing sources of funding are insufficient.

Karen Buck: The basis for allocating funding from the Transport Innovation Fund to schemes expected to contribute to national productivity is set out in the paper "Transport Innovation Fund: Guidance: January 2006" published by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Transport on 26 January. No view has yet been taken on which schemes may meet the criteria set out in that guidance, as we wish first to seek the views of the regional development agencies.

Post Office Network

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the Government funding arrangements provided in respect of the post office network since 1997.

Barry Gardiner: There was no significant funding for the Post Office Corporation prior to 1999, but since then Government support of almost £2 billion in total has been made available to Post Office Ltd. including:
	
		
			  £ million 
		
		
			 Horizon IT project 480 
			 Contribution to "Your Guide" project 25 
			 Support for the rural network to 2006 450 
			 Community post office support 2 
			 Support for urban network reinvention 210 
			 Deprived urban schemes in England 15 
			 Repayment of historic debt to Royal Mail(9) 726 
		
	
	(9) To April 2003.
	The Government have also decided to extend support to the rural network for two further years to 2008, worth another £300 million. This is subject to state aid clearance.

Crown Prosecution Service

David Amess: To ask the Solicitor-General what representations he has received about the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service in (a) Essex and (b) Southend in each of the last nine years for which information is available.

Mike O'Brien: A review of records indicates that neither I nor my predecessors have received representations from any MPs other than the hon. Member concerning the performance of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in Essex during the last nine years. I am told that three letters have been received from members of the public during this period making complaints about CPS performance in Essex, none of which appear to relate to Southend.
	HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) has recently conducted an "Overall Performance Assessment" of CPS Essex. The report is anticipated to be published during March.

Afghanistan

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements (a) are in place and (b) will be made in future for the embedding of journalists with United Kingdom armed forces in Afghanistan.

Adam Ingram: There are currently no "embedded" journalists with UK armed forces in Afghanistan. As with other operational deployments, the Ministry of Defence will put in place appropriate arrangements to facilitate media access as outlined in 2MOD Working Arrangements With The Media For Use Throughout The Full Spectrum of Military Operations", more commonly known as "The Green Book". This access will range from dealing with journalists who have travelled independently to the area, to MOD-organised visits for news and non-news media.
	These arrangements agreed between the MOD and representative media organisations, were put in place following the experience of the Falklands Campaign, and have recently been revised in full consultation with the media following the most recent experience in Iraq and elsewhere. The Green Book is available on the MOD website.
	http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/AboutDefence/CorporatePublications/Reports/OtherPublications/GreenBook/TheGreenBook.htm

Pension Contributions

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of pension contributions incurred by (a) his Department, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body, (ii) executive agency and (iii) other public body for which he is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06.

Don Touhig: Pension contributions are disclosed at Note 2 within the published Departmental Resource Accounts. Copies of the Annual Report and Accounts for 2002–03 to 2004–05 have been placed in the Library of the House. The table details the total pension contributions incurred by the Department, for all personnel (military and civilian) for the years requested.
	
		
			  Pension costs (£ million) 
		
		
			 2002–03 1,357.7 
			 2003–04 1,442.7 
			 2004–05 1,486.8 
		
	
	The self accounting non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) fall outside the Departmental Boundary of the Departmental Resource Accounts. Pension contributions for employees of these organisations are disclosed as a Note to their published accounts. Copies of the published accounts have been placed in the Library.
	The following table details the pension contribution incurred by NDPBs for the years requested.
	
		
			   £ 
			  National Army Museum Royal Air Force Museum Fleet Air Arm Museum Royal Marines Museum Royal Navy Museum Royal Navy Submarine Museum 
		
		
			 2002–03 249,352 203,035 28,034 38,374 90,476 29,529 
			 2003–04 245,069 180,286 29,533 39,182 90,049 28,968 
			 2004–05 (13)— (13)— (13)— (13)— (13)— (13)— 
		
	
	(13) Not yet published.
	The Defence Executive Agencies established as Trading Funds fall outside the Departmental Boundary of the Departmental Resource Accounts. Pension contributions for employees of these organisations are disclosed as a Note to their published accounts. Copies of the published accounts have been placed in the Library.
	The following table details the pension contributions incurred by Defence Executive Agencies for the years requested.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  UK Hydrographic Office Met Office Defence Science & Technology Laboratory Defence Aviation Repair Agency Army Base Repair Organisation 
		
		
			 2002–03 3.0 7.6 12.6 12.4 5.7 
			 2003–04 3.0 8.0 13.5 11.3 6.0 
			 2004–05 3.2 7.9 13.9 10.5 6.0 
		
	
	The Oil and Pipeline Agency is a Public Corporation sponsored by the Department, which falls outside the Departmental Boundary of the Departmental Resource Accounts. Pension contributions for employees of this organisation are disclosed as a Note to the published accounts. Copies of the published accounts have been placed in the Library.
	The following table details the pension contribution incurred by the Oil & Pipeline Agency for the years requested.
	
		
			  Pension contribution (£) 
		
		
			 2002–03 118 
			 2003–04 128 
			 2004–05 152 
		
	
	For 2005–06, employers' contributions for the majority of civilians are payable to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) at one of four rates in the ranges 16.2 to 24.6 per cent. of pensionable pay, based on salary bands. The Scheme Actuary reviews employer contributions every four years following a full scheme valuation; last carried out as at 31 March 2003. The contribution rates reflect the cost of benefits as they accrue (net of employee contributions), not the costs as they are actually incurred, and reflect past experience of the scheme. Contributions are also payable to Teachers' Superannuation Scheme, NHS Superannuation Scheme and Defined Benefit Schemes for the Royal Navy Museum (9 per cent.) and the Royal Navy Submarine Museum (12.5 per cent.).
	For Service personnel, employers' contributions are made to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) based on rates determined by the Government Actuary. The applicable rates for 2005–06 are 33.8 per cent. of pensionable pay for officers and 18.2 per cent. for other ranks.
	The Department does not collect information on a regional basis and any analysis could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Royal Air Force

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) pilots, (b) fighter aircraft, (c) transport aircraft and (d) helicopters are (i) available to and (ii) deployable by the Royal Air Force; and what the equivalent numbers were in 2000.

Adam Ingram: Table A gives the fast jet, transport and rotary aircraft operating Fleets available to the RAF for the purposes of deployment, training and exercises in 2005 and 2000. The figures include aircraft piloted by Royal Navy personnel as part of Joint Force Harrier, which for resource purposes falls within the RAF. The figures exclude rotary aircraft piloted by RAF personnel, but which are part of Joint Helicopter Command, which for resource purposes fall outside the RAF.
	The figures do not include aircraft in the sustainment Fleet, which comprises aircraft necessary to sustain the operating fleet to the out-of-service date of the aircraft type and aircraft in deep maintenance.
	
		Table A: In-service
		
			 Aircraft type 2000 2005 
		
		
			 Fast Jet 328 283 
			 Transport 85 85 
			 Rotary 19 23 
		
	
	Although all of the aircraft in the operating fleet are potentially 'deployable', Table B gives the maximum number of 'force elements' which would have been deployed to meet the most demanding scenarios (short of full scale war) against which we planned in 2000 and 2005. A force element represents a fully capable aircraft available for immediate operational tasking. The actual number of aircraft that would be deployed at any one time would, however, be greater than the figures in Table B in order to provide a margin to take into account reliability and serviceability requirements and operational factors.
	
		Table B: Deployable force elements
		
			 Aircraft type 2000 2005 
		
		
			 Fast Jet 107 80 
			 Transport 85 83 
			 Rotary 19 17 
		
	
	The reduction in the number of fast jet force elements in Table B is due to the reassessment of potential scenarios and tasking which was set out in The Command Paper "Delivering Security in a Changing World: Future Capabilities", published in July 2004. This paper set out the changes necessary to both structure and capabilities to ensure that our armed forces are best placed to meet the principal security challenges of the future: international terrorism, the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and weak and failing states.
	On 1 December 2005 there were 2,130 trained pilots in the RAF. On 1 December 2000 there were 2,180 trained pilots. Subject to their achieving the required medical standards all RAF personnel are potentially deployable.

Disabled Swimmers (London)

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what facilities are being developed to encourage disabled swimmers in London.

Richard Caborn: British Swimming (ASA in England) is one of the leading national governing bodies in terms of inclusion and it is encouraging and supporting participation by disabled people at all levels of the sport. They have a disability section with dedicated staff.
	ASA is working with pool operators to encourage more people with a disability to swim through the Everyday Swim campaign, funded by Sport England.
	ASA is re-launching its "Swim 21" club accreditation scheme in April 2006 with the aim of encouraging its mainstream and disability sections to work together for the benefit of all swimmers. They are also about to enter into a 'service level agreement' with the English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) regarding the promotion and development of opportunities for disabled swimmers.

Licensed Opening Hours

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance she has issued to local authorities on whether the extension of a licensed premises' opening hours, without any increase in the licensed premises area or capacity, would count as a material variation for the purposes of a cumulative impact special policy.

James Purnell: An extension of the hours during which alcohol can be sold might or might not be a material variation, depending upon its effect on the cumulative impact on the licensing objectives being experienced in the area of the special policy.
	It is for the local licensing authority, in the first instance, to judge if an application to vary is "material", and, if a decision is subject to legal challenge, for the courts to then rule definitively.

Licensing Act

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 18 October 2005, Official Report, column 1008W, on the Licensing Act 2003, to the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May), what definition her Department uses of the term material variation.

James Purnell: Paragraph 3.19 of the guidance issued under section 182 of the Licensing Act 2003 refers to, but does not further define, the words "material variations". In that context, a material variation is one which is material to the cumulative impact on the licensing objectives being experienced in the area of the special policy. It is for the licensing authority, in the first instance, to judge if an application to vary is "material", and, if a decision is subject to legal challenge, for the courts to rule definitively.

Smoking (Public Places)

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  what contribution her Department has made to the development of policy on smoking in public places to represent the interests of the (a) licensed trade and (b) tourism industry;
	(2)  what representations she has received from the tourism and hospitality industries regarding policy on smoking in public places.

James Purnell: My Department has remained in close touch with the tourism and hospitality industries on this issue, before and following the publication of the Department of Health's White Paper, "Choosing Health", in November 2004. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State met representatives of the hospitality industry twice in 2004 to discuss the industry's response to the Government's proposals for restricting smoking in public places. I have, since May 2005, discussed the issue on a number of occasions with representatives of the tourism and hospitality industries. These included the British Hospitality Association, the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, and the Tourism Alliance.
	Officials in my Department have worked closely with the Department of Health throughout to inform the Government's proposals, and to ensure that the interests of the tourism and hospitality industries have been fully considered. This has included the provision of factual information on these industries, and of advice on definitional issues arising from the Licensing Act 2003.

Government Communications

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish figures for the total spend by his Department on (a) public relations and press offices and (b) advertising in each year since 1996–97; and what the estimated spend for 2005–06 is.

Jim Murphy: Details of the Cabinet Office's press office staff costs and expenditure on advertising since 1997–98 and estimated spend for 2005–06 are shown in the table.
	
		
			   (£000) 
			  Press office staff costs Advertising(15) 
		
		
			 1997–98 454 206 
			 1998–99 512 166 
			 1999–2000 753 327 
			 2000–01 782 514 
			 2001–02 798 2,776 
			 2002–03 529 423 
			 2003–04 416 345 
			 2004–05 439 443 
			 2005–06(16) 407 480 
		
	
	(15) This includes the National School of Government.
	(16) Estimated spend shown for 2005–06 is based on actual expenditure incurred up to and including December plus an estimate of expenditure from January to March 2006.
	Financial information prior to 1997–98 is not held on the Department's accounting system and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The increase in advertising expenditure from 1998–99 to 2000–01 is due to expenditure on recruitment advertising for posts within the Department. These posts ranged from administration and junior management level through to the senior civil service. Also included are expenditure on recruitment advertising for specialist placements within the Government Information and Development Centre.
	The advertising figure for 2001–02 includes expenditure of £2,491,000 incurred by the Office of the E-Envoy (now known as the e-Government Unit) for the UK Online advertising campaign, offering help to people wanting to use the internet.

Regulatory Reform Act

Alan Duncan: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many regulations have been (a) amended and (b) removed under the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 in each year since the Act was passed.

Jim Murphy: Changes to regulations are usually made via the statutory instrument powers used to create them.
	The main provision of the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 is to allow for the reform of burdensome primary legislation by Regulatory Reform Orders (RRO). Detailed records are not kept of any ancillary changes to regulations.
	Twenty-seven Regulatory Reform Orders ("RROs") have been made since the Regulatory Reform Act 2001 was passed. These have delivered benefits to a range of sectors, including businesses, charities and local authorities. Details of the changes made by these orders are available in the supporting documentation accompanying these orders on the Cabinet Office Better Regulation Executive's website at: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/regulation/regulatory_reform/act/reform_ orders.asp.

Torture

David Howarth: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 30 January 2006, Official Report, column 64W, on torture, and his oral answer of 7 December 2005, Official Report, column 862, whether his statement that the US does not condone torture was intended to exclude other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment set out in Article 16 of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Tony Blair: The US Secretary of State made clear in her public statement of 5 December 2005 on the treatment of detainees that "it is US policy that authorised interrogation will be consistent with US obligations under the Convention Against Torture, which prohibit cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment".
	The US Detainee Treatment Act, enacted on 30 December 2005, provides that no individual in the custody or under the physical control of the US Government, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This legislation makes a matter of statute what President Bush has made clear was already US Government policy.

Financial Inclusion

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent measures he has taken to promote financial inclusion.

Margaret Hodge: The Government is committed to improved access to banking and the supply of affordable credit. We have made great progress since 1997 by implementing many of the recommendations of the Policy Action Team Report. However we recognise that there is more to be done.
	We continue to promote financial inclusion through improved access to banking and the supply of affordable credit. Two specific initiatives in our Department are the £36 million allocated to the Growth Fund which will result in more affordable credit becoming available to tens of thousands of people and the improvements to simplify and expand the interest free Social Fund Budgeting Loans scheme.

Benefit Fraud

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on his Department's strategy to tackle benefit fraud.

James Plaskitt: Our strategy for tackling benefit fraud was published in "Reducing Fraud in the Benefit System: Achievements and Ambitions" on 13 October 2005. Copies are available in the Library.
	Since 1997, we have reduced fraud in income support and jobseeker's allowance by nearly two thirds. We now estimate that we lose around £0.9 billion to fraud each year—under 1 per cent. of total benefit expenditure, and the lowest estimated levels ever recorded. However, we realise that there is more to do and will continue to drive this down further.

Benefit Payments/Provision

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was owed to the Department in overpaid benefits in each quarter of the past three years; how much was received in each quarter; and if he will make a statement on progress in recovery of the outstanding balance.

James Plaskitt: Benefit overpayment balances outstanding and recoveries for the last three years are as follows:
	
		
			 £ million 
			  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 
		
		
			 2002–03 
			 Balance owed at quarter end 1,087 1,101 1,116 1,145 
			 Recoveries 49.3 48.9 45.7 44.8 
			 Total recovered 188.8 
			  
			 2003–04(17) 
			 Balance owed at quarter end 1,124 1,122 1,121 1,157 
			 Recoveries 54.7 46.6 50.9 (18)29.1 
			 Total recovered 181.4 
			  
			 2004–05 
			 Balance owed at quarter end 1,161 1,174 1,187 1,230 
			 Recoveries 46.1 50.4 55.6 (18)35.5 
		
	
	Total recovered 186.6
	(17) The reductions in both the debt stock (Q1) and recoveries in 2003–04 were due to the transfer of child benefit from DWP to Inland Revenue.
	(18) Recoveries figure reduced in quarter to reflect accounting adjustments required to balance out incorrectly posted transactions in previous three quarters.
	Within the Department, Debt Management was established in April 2001 to provide greater focus and expertise to the management and recovery of benefit overpayments within the Department. Since then, the bulk of benefit overpayment recovery work has been centralised from over 100 sites to 10 dedicated debt centres, and £750 million of overpaid benefits has been recovered up to March 2005.
	Since April 2004, where DWP has been unsuccessful in seeking recovery from those no longer in receipt of benefit, the debt has been referred to our private sector partners under the Enforcement Initiative.
	From August 2005, a new computer system was introduced to the debt centres to assist with the recovery and accounting processes.
	These improvements will see enhanced management and recovery in future years. However, due to the circumstances of many of our customers, recovery of a debt can take several years.

Child Support

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many non-resident parents are paying child support under (a) the old system and (b) the new system; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many non-resident parents are paying child support under (a) the old system and (b) the new system; and if he will make a statement.
	In the quarter to December 2005, the latest period for which figures are available, just over 400,000 cases were in receipt of maintenance via the Agency's collection service or had a Maintenance Direct arrangement in place. This equates to over half a million children.
	The table attached breaks down this figure with respect to cases under the old and new schemes across both the old and new child support IT systems according to whether or not a case is on the collection service, or has a maintenance direct arrangement in place.
	I hope you find this helpful.
	
		Number of cases where maintenance was collected via the Agency's collection service or a Maintenance Direct arrangement was in place by Child Support Scheme and IT system—Quarter ending December 2005 Thousand
		
			  New Scheme (New IT system) Old Scheme (New IT system) Old Scheme (Old IT system) Total 
		
		
			 Number of cases receiving maintenance via the collection service 111,000 33,000 158,000 302,000 
			 Number of cases with a maintenance direct arrangement in place 36,000 8,000 62,000 106,000 
			 Total 147,000 41,000 220,000 408,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Numbers above exclude old scheme cases with a punitive interim maintenance assessment in place, as well as new scheme cases being progressed clerically.
	2. Old scheme child supports cases a largely processed on the old IT system, but are also processed on the new IT system where they have been migrated due to links with new scheme applications.
	3. Maintenance Direct cases are those in which the Agency has carried out a maintenance calculation or assessment, and the non resident parent has subsequently agreed to pay the parent with care directly. There will then be no further involvement from the Agency unless requested by either party (for example in the event of a change of circumstances requiring recalculation or non compliance by the non resident parent). The existence of such an arrangement does not guarantee that payment of maintenance occurs, as it could cease upon mutual agreement of both parties without the Agency being informed.
	4. A case is counted as having been compliant on the Agency collection service if it is open at the end of December, and any money has been both requested and received via the Agency's collection service in the preceding three months.
	5. Volumes are rounded to the nearest thousand.

Departmental Expenditure

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of pension contributions incurred by (a) his Department and (b) each (i) non-departmental public body, (ii) executive agency and (iii) other public body for which he is responsible in (A) Scotland, (B) Wales, (C) each of the English regions and (D) Northern Ireland in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2005–06.

Stephen Timms: Such information that is available is in the table. Planned expenditure for 2005–06 is based on actual costs to November 2005, extrapolated for the full year. Contribution rates were consistent between 2002–03 and 2004–05 but have increased substantially with effect from 1 April 2005, accounting for the acute rise in costs.
	
		
			 £ million 
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Department for Work and Pensions 291.6 303.7 312.2 427.9 
			 Executive Agencies: 
			 Child Support Agency 20.5 21.6 22.1 32.8 
			 Jobcentre Plus 175.3 171.6 178.3 245.5 
			 Disability and Carers Service (established 1/11/04) n/a n/a 6.0 20.0 
			 The Pension Service 25.3 37.2 35.1 43.9 
			 The Appeals Service 1.8 3.5 3.6 4.2 
			 The Rent Service 1.8 2.2 2.5 2.9 
			 Health & Safety Executive 17.0 17.0 17.1 24.0 
			 Non-departmental public bodies: 
			 Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (The Pensions Regulator  from 6/04/05) 0.7 0.7 0.9 1.3 
			 Disability Rights Commission 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.9 
			 Pensions Compensation Board 0 0 0 0 
		
	
	For 2005–06, employers' contributions are payable to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) at one of four rates in the ranges 16.2 to 24.6 per cent. of pensionable pay, based on salary bands. The Scheme Actuary reviews employer contributions every four years following a full scheme valuation; last carried out as at 31 March 2003. The contribution rates reflect the cost of benefits as they accrue (net of employee contributions), not the costs as they are actually incurred, and reflect past experience of the scheme.

Departmental Leaflets

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what response his Department is making to the recent National Audit Office Report on its leaflets.

Anne McGuire: In the "Using Information to communicate with the public about services and entitlements" report the NAO acknowledges the recent work the Department has already undertaken in this area. The Department has already made progress against a number of the NAO's recommendations and will carefully monitor implementation of the remainder.

Jobseekers

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps are taken by the staff of Jobcentre Plus to support working age claimants with special needs, with particular reference to people with (a) English language difficulties, (b) learning disabilities and (c) chronic physical and mental health problems.

Margaret Hodge: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. She will write to the hon. Member.
	Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 6 February 2006
	The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has asked me to reply to your questions asking what steps are taken by the staff of Jobcentre Plus to support working age claimants with special needs, with particular reference to people with (a) English language difficulties, (b) learning disabilities and (c) chronic physical and mental health problems. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus provides additional help for those people who face particular disadvantage in the labour market. This is provided primarily through personal advisers who provide information, advice and guidance to help people identify and overcome barriers to employment. Alongside this, there is a range of employment and training related opportunities to help overcome specific issues such language and learning difficulties, and physical and mental health problems.
	By way of context it is worth mentioning that the Government published a Green Paper on Welfare Reform—"A New Deal for Welfare : Empowering people to work" on 24 January 2006. In that Green Paper the Government re-emphasised its commitment to provide opportunity for all saying :
	"Ensuring that all our citizens have both the right and the opportunity to join the world of work is a fundamental responsibility of any modern government. The Government will help people achieve success for themselves and their families."
	The Green Paper sets our proposals for reforms which build on recent successes which Jobcentre Plus have been a part of and we are continue to take a leading in role in delivering better services to the people we serve.
	On the specific issue of language difficulties, our policy is to ensure interpreters are provided when conducting business with customers who do not speak English or Welsh, or who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Interpreters can be provided in a number of ways, e.g. through:
	multi-lingual members of staff;
	local interpreters providing services voluntarily or under contract;
	the Department of Work and Pensions telephone-interpreter service, which is currently provided by Language Line.
	In some instances customers may also use their own interpreters, e.g. a family member or friend, though for formal interviews, e.g. benefit appeals and tribunals, only independent and qualified interpreters may be used.
	People for whom English is a second language (ESOL) also have access to work focused provision through our Work Based Learning for Adults programme and the New Deal. These ESOL programmes provide full-time help for up to 26 weeks, 780 learning hours (26 weeks at 30 hours a week). Participants follow a varied and innovative approach to learning and are encouraged to take part in project work and work placements to consolidate their learning, which is designed to improve skills by at least one level.
	Jobcentre Plus also has a range of support and labour market advice for those customers receiving Incapacity benefits. This is available to a range of customers with health conditions and disabilities including those with learning difficulties and chronic physical and mental health conditions.
	A key, new, element of our service are the Pathways to Work Pilots, which are currently operating in 11 Jobcentre Plus Districts. Specialist advisers are given enhanced interviewing skills to enable them to deal specifically with this customer group. Pathways to Work have also introduced a more intensive mandatory regime of work-focused interviews for all new Incapacity benefit customers, with access to a wider range of support. IB customers with the most severe conditions are not expected to take part in the full Pathways regime but can volunteer to participate. The support includes a Choices Package, which includes the Condition Management Programme (CMP) delivered through a partnership between Jobcentre Plus and the NHS. The CMP is delivered by health professionals and has been designed to help people better understand and cope with their health condition. Through these pilots we are engaging significantly greater numbers of customers and substantially improving their prospects for work.
	Incapacity Benefit Personal Advisers (IBPAs) have been introduced into all Jobcentre Plus offices. The aim of the IBPA is to provide support to customers in receipt of Incapacity Benefit move closer to the labour market and into sustainable employment.
	Additionally, more specialist support is available via the Disability Employment Adviser (DEA) who works closely with employers, employees and customers with a health condition or disability, offering advice and practical support to enable the person find and sustain employment. DEAs are also a route for obtaining support through the specialist programmes provided by Jobcentre Plus.
	There are a number of programmes that are specifically designed to help people with a disability or health condition return to work:
	Access to Work is a specialist disability programme, which provides practical advice and support to help disabled people enter or stay in paid employment;
	Work Preparation is an individually tailored, work-focused programme that enables disabled people to address barriers associated with their disability and prepare for working with the confidence necessary to achieve and sustain their job goal;
	WORKSTEP provides support in jobs for disabled people who have more complex barriers to finding and keeping work but who, with the right support, can work effectively and develop in their job. Longer-term support continues to be available for those who need it and is a major element of the programme;
	people with a disability or health condition may also receive help through the New Deal for Disabled People programme. NDDP is a voluntary programme which gives customers on qualifying disability or health-related benefits in England, Scotland and Wales access to a network of Job Brokers. Job Brokers work with customers to help them compete in the labour market and support them in finding and keeping a job;
	the Job Introduction Scheme (JIS) aims to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities by offering a weekly grant to employers during the first six weeks of their employment;
	Residential Training provides a unique service to unemployed disabled adults whose needs are not met through any other government funded programmes. Although other programmes can fund training aimed at helping disabled people into work, the Residential Training courses are unique in that they deliver specific training and programmes for disabled people with complex needs who cannot enter into employment or a work-based environment without the appropriate preparation; and
	other New Deal programmes such as New Deal for Young People, New Deal 25 plus, New Deal 50 plus and New Deal for Lone Parents are also available to this customer group.
	I do apologise for the length of this response, but I hope it has helped in detailing the wide range of services available.

Maintenance Arrears

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he expects payment for maintenance arrears for (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 to be made to Miss Jones of Birkenhead.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive, Mr. Stephen Geraghty. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 6 February 2006
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects payment for maintenance arrears for (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 to be made to Miss Jones of Birkenhead.
	As details about individual cases are confidential I have written to you separately about this case.

British Farm Produce

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of the (a) bread-making wheat, (b) butter, (c) cheese and (d) beef consumed in the United Kingdom between 2000 and 2004 was produced by British farmers.

Ben Bradshaw: The amount of produce available for consumption in the United Kingdom is measured by its total new supply. The following tables show production in the United Kingdom as a proportion of total new supply.
	
		UK production as a proportion of total new supply Percentage
		
			  Butter Cheese Beef 
		
		
			 2000 64 63 79 
			 2001 63 66 72 
			 2002 64 65 71 
			 2003 64 62 70 
			 2004 61 61 70 
			 2005(23) 65 63 74 
		
	
	(23) Provisional
	Information specifically on the amount of bread-making wheat consumed in the United Kingdom that was produced by British farmers is not available. However, available data show that the following proportion of home grown wheat was used by United Kingdom millers:
	
		UK proportion of home grown wheat used by millers in the UK
		
			 Wheat Percentage 
		
		
			 2000 82 
			 2001 85 
			 2002 83 
			 2003 85 
			 2004 86 
		
	
	The data include wheat milled to produce bread, biscuits, other food ingredients and starch, where production of flour for bread making was typically around 60 per cent. of the total flour produced over this time period. No data are yet available for 2005.

Climate Change

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what projections she has made regarding UK carbon dioxide figures for each year until 2010;
	(2)  what projections she made regarding UK carbon dioxide figures for 2005.

Elliot Morley: Final UK greenhouse gas emissions for 1990 to 2004 were published by Defra on 23 January 2006. Net carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions (ie emissions from sources minus removals by sinks) were 152.5 million tonnes of carbon equivalent (MtC) for 2004. Provisional estimates of UK CO 2 emissions for 2005 are due to be published by Defra and DTI on 30 March 2006.
	The headline figures from the most recent CO 2 emissions projections for 2010 were published in the Government's Energy Review consultation paper, "Our Energy Challenge: securing clean, affordable energy for the long term", on 23 January 2006. These show that, based on current measures only, CO 2 emissions are projected to be 144.2 MtC in 2010. The revised Climate Change Programme, which we will publish shortly, will contain additional measures to reduce further our CO 2 emissions.

Poultry Farmers

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether the UK has met the EU directive requirement that all commercial poultry keepers are registered; and what definition of commercial is used for this purpose.

Ben Bradshaw: In order to meet the requirements of Directive 2005/94/EC, the Great Britain Poultry Register was launched on 9 December 2005. Commercial premises of 50 birds or more have until 28 February 2006 to register with the Department.
	The definitions for poultry and commercial poultry premises are those used in the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures)(No. 2) Regulations 2005. For the purpose of the Register, "poultry" means all birds that are reared or kept in captivity for the production of meat or eggs for consumption, the production of other commercial products, for restocking supplies of game or for the purposes of any breeding programme for the production of these categories of birds. "Commercial poultry premises" means premises where poultry are kept for commercial purposes and does not include premises where all poultry (and their eggs) are kept by their owners for their own consumption or as pets.
	No formal legal definition exists of the term "commercial". Ultimately it would be for the courts to define, but in principle, the word should be given its ordinary meaning. Having said that, commercial activities typically involve the exchange of money, goods or services. Using an example from the game world, we think that premises rearing and/or releasing gamebirds are likely to be commercial poultry premises, as activities on these premises would involve some level of commercial transaction. The supply of birds/carcases to third parties for services rendered would count as "commercial". It is possible, however, that small private syndicates communally owning, shooting and consuming all their birds would classify as non-commercial premises.
	If there is any uncertainty about premises with more than 50 poultry being commercial, we recommend that the premises are registered. Information on the GB Poultry Register can be found at http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/diseases/vetsurveillance/poultry/index. htm.

Sewage

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many tonnes of human sewage sludge was disposed of on (a) agricultural land and (b) by other means in each of the last five years.

Elliot Morley: The total number of dry solid tonnes of sewage sludge recycled to agricultural land and disposed of by other means in England and Wales in the years 2000–04 was as follows:
	
		
			  Agriculture Other routes 
		
		
			 2000 556,798 384,326 
			 2001 664,685 365,036 
			 2002 701,249 490,015 
			 2003 802,555 476,781 
			 2004 796,927 424,117 
		
	
	Note:
	Under The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989, "agriculture" means the growing of all types of commercial food crops, including for stock-rearing purposes. Before being applied to agricultural land, sludge from wastewater treatment plants is treated in accordance with the Safe Sludge Matrix.
	Source:
	Water UK

Sustainable Building

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on Government procurement in relation to sustainable building practices.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government is committed to supporting sustainable building practices through best practice procurement by the public sector. The mandated 'Common Minimum Standards for the procurement of built environments in the Public Sector' (CMS), published by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), includes a sustainability standard that states:
	"Project and programme procurement strategies will take full account of the Government's commitment to sustainable development and of the economic, environmental and social impacts of its decisions."
	The CMS and other relevant construction procurement guidance are available on the OGC website www.ogc.gov.uk

Home Start

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the future funding of the Home Start Project.

Shaun Woodward: DHSSPS allocates approximately £45,000 core funding per annum for Home Start in Northern Ireland to assist its administration. In addition, funding for Home Start services totalled £1.1 million in 2004–05, as detailed in the following table:
	
		
			  £000 
			  Amount 
		
		
			 HSS trusts/boards 503 
			 Sure Start 287 
			 The Children's Fund 175 
			 Childhood Fund 43 
			 Peace II European Funding 31 
			 Executive Fund for Children 20 
			 Total 1,059 
		
	
	The figures for 2005–06 are not yet available.
	The future funding for Home Start will be determined within the priorities and resources of HSS boards and trusts and in liaison with Sure Start projects.

M2 (Daily Usage)

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what the average daily number of vehicles using the M2 Motorway outbound between Belfast and (a) Sandyknowes junction, (b) Sandyknowes junction and the A26 junction and (c) the A26 junction and the Toome bypass was in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what the average number of vehicles using the Londonderry/Limavady main road through Ballykelly village was in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The chief executive of Roads Service (Dr. Malcolm McKibbin) has been asked to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to these questions.
	Letter from Dr. Malcolm McKibbin, dated 6 February 2006
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland two Parliamentary Questions:
	(i) The average daily number of vehicles using the M2 Motorway outbound between Belfast and (a) Sandyknowes junction, (b) Sandyknowes junction and the A26 junction and (c) the A26 junction and the Toome bypass was on the latest date for which figures are available; and
	(ii) What the average number of vehicles using the Londonderry/Limavady main road through Ballykelly village was in each of the last five years.
	I have been asked to reply as the issues raised fall within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Roads Service.
	By way of background I should explain that Roads Service collects traffic volume data by means of 270 automatic census points strategically located throughout the Northern Ireland road network. The information is recorded for one week in each quarter during the year and an annual average calculated. The results are published in Roads Service's annual Traffic and Travel Information Report, which presents the traffic volumes in a variety of formats for each site.
	The latest data on the average daily number of vehicles using the M2 Motorway outbound from Belfast is shown in the table below.
	
		
			 Location Average daily flow 
		
		
			 M2 Between Belfast and Sandyknowes 42,410 
			 M2 Between Sandyknowes and A26 15,520 
			 M2 Between A26 and Toome Bypass 9,130 
		
	
	The available data on the average volume of vehicles per day recorded in each of the last five years on the A2 through Ballykelly, is shown in the table below.
	
		
			  A2 Limavady-Londonderry at Greysteel 
		
		
			 2001 13,870 
			 2002 14,130 
			 2003 14,290 
			 2004 14,270 
			 2005 14,534 
		
	
	I hope this information is helpful.

Certified Home Inspectors

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the new home inspectors will be required to have Criminal Records Bureau checks.

Yvette Cooper: The Housing Act 2004 requires the Secretary of State, my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister to be satisfied, before approving a certification scheme, that the scheme contains appropriate provision to ensure that home inspectors are "fit and proper persons". The intention is that the procedure for deciding whether a person is fit and proper for this purpose will involve a check of the Criminal Records Bureau.

Departmental Expenditure

Michael Weir: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much was spent on external consultants and advisers by (a) his Department and previous Departments with his Department's responsibilities, (b) each (i) non-departmental public body and (ii) executive agency for which his Department is responsible and (c) independent statutory bodies, organisations and bodies financially sponsored by his Department in each year since May 1997.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister was formed in May 2002. The cost of external consultancies is as follows and relates to ODPM C and its Agencies. A breakdown for non-departmental public bodies, independent statutory bodies, organisations and bodies financially sponsored by his Department could be obtained only at disproportionate cost:
	
		
			 £ 
			  2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06(27) 
		
		
			 ODPM Central 76,000,000 47,000,000 79,831,087 38,248,314 
			 Planning Inspectorate 3,222,478 2,892,751 2,824,751 2,102,703 
			 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre 11,016 68,861 79,635 84,379 
			 Fire Service College 43,306 152,279 320,484 258,887 
		
	
	(27) To date.

Housing

Michael Gove: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many families in each London local authority area were living in overcrowded conditions in (a) 1997, (b) 2000 and (c) 2005.

Yvette Cooper: There are two measures of overcrowding—the statutory definition and the bedroom standard. Information on compliance with the statutory standard is not collected systematically and estimates at local authority level are not available.
	Estimates based on the bedroom standard are available—but generally not at local authority level. However, some local authority estimates were made for 2002 and may be referenced in the following report:
	"Overcrowding in England, the Sub-Regional picture: Statistics"
	This can be accessed at:
	http://www.odpm.gov.uk/index. asp?id=1152920
	Then scroll down and click on:
	'Table 1: Overcrowding by sub-regional area'.
	Results at a sub-regional level are not available for any other period.

Warehouses (Planning Regulations)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on what plans the Government have to amend planning regulations for warehouses near transport hubs.

Yvette Cooper: Planning Policy Guidance note (PPG) 13 "Transport" advises that, in preparing plans and determining planning applications, local planning authorities should, where possible, locate developments generating substantial freight movements such as distribution and warehousing away from congested central areas and residential areas and ensure adequate access to trunk roads. It goes on to say planning authorities should promote opportunities for freight generating development to be served by rail or waterways. The Government have no plans to amend this policy guidance nor to make any regulations.

Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what occasions she has referred matters to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

Paul Goggins: Since becoming Home Secretary in December 2004, I have referred three matters to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).
	1. In March 2005, I asked the Council to review the classification of cannabis products that are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The Council's report was published on 19 January 2006.
	2. In March 2005 the then Minister responsible for drugs, Caroline Flint asked the ACMD on my behalf to consider evidence relating to khat, including two pieces of research commissioned by the Home Office and carried out by Turning Point and NACRO respectively. The Council's report was also published on 19 January.
	3. In January 2006 I asked the ACMD to review the classification of the so called 'date rape drugs', including GHB and Rohypnol. A time frame for reporting on these drugs is in the process of being agreed with the ACMD.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what methodology his Department uses to measure the effectiveness of antisocial behaviour orders.

Hazel Blears: In 2002 we published a research paper entitled "A review of antisocial behaviour orders" (commonly referred to as the Campbell review) which followed a commitment made during the passage through Parliament of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. ASBOs have now reached sufficient numbers to necessitate further research.
	The Home Office is conducting an evaluation of ASBOs, the findings of which will be available in spring 2006 and will provide information on the effectiveness of ASBOs in tackling antisocial behaviour within our neighbourhoods and communities. In addition, the Home Affairs Select Committee, in their report on antisocial behaviour published last year, recommended that research was necessary to establish the reasons for any inappropriate issuing of ASBOs or the issuing of ASBOs with inappropriate conditions. We are currently considering the best way to meet this recommendation. The Youth Justice Board has also commissioned research and we are awaiting the findings.

Cannabis

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his oral statement on the regulation of cannabis of 19 January 2006, Official Report, columns 982–4, what evidence he relied upon in his statement that cannabis use among 16 to 24-year-olds has fallen by four per cent. since 1998; and what sample (a) size and (b) range was used in making the calculation.

Paul Goggins: The figures used in the Home Secretary's statement come from the British Crime Survey (BCS) which, as stated, shows that use of cannabis in the past year was reported by 28 per cent. of 16 to 24-year-olds in 1998 and 24 per cent. of the same age group in 2004–05, a decrease of four percentage points.
	The BCS is a large nationally representative survey of adults living in private households in England and Wales. It has included a comparable set of self completion questions on drug use since 1996. In 1998, 1,295 16 to 24-year-olds answered the drugs questions, while in 2004–05, 6,287 16 to 24-year-olds did so. More details of the survey methods and findings are available in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin No. 16/05 "Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the 2004/05 British Crime Survey" which is available on the Home Office website and in the Library of the House.

Cash-in-transit Crime

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2006, Official Report, column 1422W, on cash-in-transit crime and (b) the impact that the Serious Organised Crime Agency can make by preventing them.

Paul Goggins: The Home Office assesses the overall harm caused by different types of crime as described in the White Paper "One Step Ahead—A 21st Century Strategy to Defeat Organised Crime". In assessing the impact of its own activity, SOCA will apply a range of qualitative and quantitative criteria, drawing on the Home Office work on harm and its own developing understanding of the threat from different forms of organised crime. It will consider the capacity, capability and intent of criminals and their enterprises and seek to contribute to harm reduction through disrupting their activities, reducing profit incentives, and increasing the risks they take.

Circuses (Alcohol-related Incidents)

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many alcohol-related incidents connected to circuses have been recorded in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: This information is not available centrally from the recorded crime database. The British Crime Survey routinely provides information on whether the victims of violent incidents thought that one or more of the offenders were "under the influence of drink".
	The BCS also routinely provides information on the location of crime-related incidents. Information on the location of violent incidents, by whether the offender was thought to be under the influence of alcohol has also been provided for 2004–05 BCS data.
	The number or proportion of other crime related incidents where the offender was thought be under the influence of alcohol has not been estimated. The BCS does not collect information on incidents that have occurred in or are connected to circuses.
	The available information since 1999 is included in the tables.
	
		Proportion and numbers of violent incidents where offender was thought to be under the influence of alcohol, BCS Percentage and number (Thousand)
		
			 Under the influence of alcohol 1999 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Proportion of all BCS violence 40 47 44 50 48 
			 Number of offences (Thousand) 1,315 1,251 1,190 1,302 1,112 
		
	
	
		Location of violent incidents Percentage
		
			  1999 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Around the home 24 27 25 26 23 
			 Around work 17 8 8 9 7 
			 Street 24 24 29 28 30 
			 Pub or club 20 21 20 21 22 
			 Transport 3 4 3 4 3 
			 Other location 12 15 14 12 15 
		
	
	
		Location of violent incidents by whether the offender was thought to be under the influence of alcohol, all BCS violence,BCS 2004/05 Percentage
		
			  Under the influence of alcohol: 
			  Yes No Not known 
		
		
			 Around the home 45 50 4 
			 Around work 46 52 2 
			 Street 35 47 18 
			 Pub or club 82 12 6 
			 Other location 35 58 6

Counter-terrorism Funding

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the written statement of 25 January 2006, Official Report, column 57WS, on counter terrorism funding, 
	(1)  what proportion of the Consolidated Grant for Counter-Terrorism would previously have been included in the General Grant;
	(2)  pursuant to the written statement of 25 January 2006, Official Report, column 57WS, on counter terrorism funding, how much of the £446 million police counter-terrorism expenditure will come from (a) the General Police Grant, (b) other expenditure falling within his Department's departmental expenditure limits and (c) annually managed expenditure;
	(3)  how much was spent on counter-terrorism by (a) the Metropolitan Police Service and (b) local and regional police forces between 1997 and (i) when funding was drawn together into a consolidated grant for counter terrorism, (ii) 5 December 2005 and (iii) 25 January 2006.

Charles Clarke: We are consolidating existing and new funding streams into a new fund. The overall provision will be: The whole provision is made from within the Department's Delegated Expenditure Limit (DEL). Information on the level of counter terrorism spending by the Metropolitan Police Service and local and regional policing is not held centrally.
	
		
			£ million 
			  2006–07 2007–08 Total 
		
		
			 Existing MPS Specific Grant 61 61 122 
			 New MPS Specific Grant 30 45 75 
			 Existing Regional Specific CT Grant 35 35 70 
			 New Regional Specific CT Grant 33 65 98 
			 Existing Specific CT Capital Grant 8 8 16 
			 New Specific CT Capital Grant 30 35 65 
			 Subtotal 197 249 446 
			 
			 Former General Grant (DSP) 213 213 426 
			 Met Police Special Payment (Former  General Grant) 50 50 100 
			 Subtotal 263 263 526 
			 
			 Total 460 512 972

Emigration

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have emigrated from the UK in each year since 1990.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.
	Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 6 February 2006
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question regarding the number of people emigrating from the United Kingdom in each year since 1990.1 am replying in her absence. (47742)
	Estimates of emigration from the UK are shown in the attached table. The figures are based on the most comprehensive estimate of migration produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Total International Migration (TIM), which is based on a number of sources. TIM estimates using the current methodology are only available from 1991 onwards. The latest estimates, for 2004, were published in the First Release on 20 October 2005, and can be found on the National Statistics website: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Product.asp?vlnk=507.
	
		Total international migration(32): Emigration time series1991 to 2004 Thousands
		
			  Outflow (emigration out of the United Kingdom)  All citizenships 
		
		
			 1991 285.0 
			 1992 281.1 
			 1993 266.3 
			 1994 237.6 
			 1995 236.5 
			 1996 263.7 
			 1997 279.2 
			 1998 251.5 
			 1999 290.8 
			 2000 320.7 
			 2001 307.7 
			 2002 359.4 
			 2003 361.5 
			 2004 359.5 
		
	
	(32) Data for 1991 to 2004 are based mainly on data from the International Passenger Survey. Includes adjustments for (1) those whose intended length of stay changes so that their migrant status changes; (2) asylum seekers and their dependants not identified by the IPS; and (3) flows between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
	Note:
	A small weighting adjustment has been applied to IPS data for 1991 to 1998. This reflects the estimated effect of applying the weighting improvements made to IPS data from 1999 onwards.

National Database

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether DMA profiles held on the National DNA database will be tagged with the individual's National Identity Register number; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The Government have no plans to link DNA profiles held on the National DNA Database with the proposed National Identity Register number.

Police

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Written Statement of 5 December 2005, Official Report, columns 68–79WS, on police authorities in England and Wales (grant allocations), what his Department's definition of a neighbourhood is.

Hazel Blears: The Government are committed to ensuring that every neighbourhood will have a dedicated neighbourhood policing team by 2008. The size of the neighbourhood which is served by this team will vary from area to area: a "neighbourhood" to an inner-city resident will be very different from what it means to someone living in a predominantly rural area. Typically though, it is likely that a neighbourhood will cover one or two council wards. What is really important is that residents will know the names of their local officers see them on the street and have their phone numbers and email addresses.

Police

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many police authorities did not respond to the consultation on restructuring before 23 December 2005 deadline;
	(2)  how many police authorities submitted (a) business plans and (b) implementation plans for restructuring forces on or before 23 December 2005 deadline.

Hazel Blears: 42 of 43 police forces and authorities responded to the consultation deadline of 23 December 2005 with the exception of the Metropolitan Police for whom a later deadline was agreed to take account of the separate reviews of British Transport Police by Department of Transport and of fraud by the Attorney General. The responses received did not necessarily constitute full business cases. Rather, they set out the force and authority's response to the recommendations in HMIC's report, "Closing the Gap".

Prisoners

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he has taken to ensure that non-smoking prison inmates are not required to share cells with prisoners who smoke.

Fiona Mactaggart: Each prison develops its own "no smoking" policy in line with current health and safety advice, taking into account the type of establishment it is, its population and the special needs of that population. Wherever possible prisoners should not be required to share accommodation with a smoker if they so request. A working group has been set up to look at the smoke free elements of the current Health Bill as they apply to prisons. It will consider this issue as part of that work.

Secure Establishments

Sally Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the staff turnover at (a) local authority secure accommodation, (b) Home Office youth establishments and (c) secure training centres was in each of the last three years.

Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested in respect of Prison Service young offender institutions and secure training centres is given in the following tables. No data is collected centrally on staff turnover in local authority secure children's homes.
	
		Staff turnover in prison service young offender institutions(33) Percentage
		
			 Establishment 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Brinsford 5.6 5.1 6.0 
			 Bullwood Hall 8.8 10.7 6.3 
			 Castington 8.0 5.2 6.5 
			 Downview 9.1 10.1 9.4 
			 Eastwood Park 14.9 13.4 12.2 
			 Feltham 11.6 10.6 9.6 
			 Hindley 6.1 12.7 9.9 
			 Huntercombe 15.8 16.6 14.1 
			 Lancaster Farms 4.7 4.1 5.6 
			 New Hall 6.3 9.9 9.8 
			 Stoke Heath 5.3 8.8 10.2 
			 Thorn Cross 9.4 5.4 8.2 
			 Warren Hill(34) — 8.2 9.4 
			 Werrington 9.4 12.4 7.7 
			 Wetherby 7.7 7.2 8.8 
		
	
	(33) Turnover is measured as the total number of leavers during the year, excluding casual and administrative staff but including retirements, divided by staff in post at the start of the year. A number of healthcare staff transferred from the prison service to primary care trusts as part of the change of responsibility for healthcare commissioning: they are not included in the figures.
	(34) Before February 2003, Warren Hill was part of HM Prison and YOI Hollesley Bay. It is not possible separately to identify staff at Warren Hill before that date.
	
		Secure training centres(35) Percentage
		
			 Centre 2002 2003 2004 
		
		
			 Hassockfield 36 25 27 
			 Rainsbrook 13 22 23 
			 Medway(36) 26 37 28 
			 Oakhill(37) n/a n/a 31 
		
	
	(35) Data from the centres include staff that were provisionally appointed but did not actually start work for various reasons, including failure to pass the initial training course or receive criminal records bureau clearance. (These staff did not have contact with children.)
	(36) When Medway expanded in 2003 it recruited more staff than proved to be needed. The higher turnover in that year reflects adjustment to the appropriate staffing level through natural wastage.
	(37) Oakhill opened in August 2004.

Administrative Costs

Stephen Hesford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the statement of 15 November 2005, Official Report, column 849, if she will set out the figures for the proportion of the NHS budget spent in administrative costs since 1996.

Liam Byrne: National health service administration costs as a percentage of total NHS expenditure have fallen since 1996–67. In 1996–97 NHS administration costs were 6.1 per cent. of the total NHS budget and in 2004–05 NHS administration costs were 4.9 per cent. of the total NHS Budget 1 .
	1 These figures are not directly comparable.
	
		Administration costs £ million
		
			  1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Total administration costs in health authorities and primary care trusts and management costs in NHS trusts 2,020 1,963 1,935 2,158 2,166 2,565 n/a 3,345 3,412 
			 NHS total expenditure (England) 32,997 34,664 36,608 40,201 43,932 49,021 54,042 63,001 69,706 
			 As a percentage of total net NHS expenditure 6.1 5.7 5.3 5.4 4.9 5.2 n/a 5.3 4.9 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	Notes:
	1. Health Authorities for 1996–97 to 2001–02.
	2. Strategic Health Authorities 2003–04.
	3. Primary Care Trusts 2000–01 to 2003–04.
	4. NHS Trusts 1996–97 to 2003–04.
	5. 2002–03 figures—contains significant, unmeasurable element of double counting of PCT costs in particular shared services. (See Background for PQ0774 for detail).
	6. From 2004–05 NHS administration costs are calculated using admin and clerical figures from the administration and estates staff costs (cash terms). These figures are not directly comparable.
	7. These figures do not contain NHS Foundation Trust counts, NHS Foundation Trusts report management costs separately to Monitor, the independent regulator for NHS Foundation Trusts, using DH management costs guidance as best practice.

Cardiac Physiologists

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cardiac physiologists have worked in the NHS in each year since 1997; and how many full-time equivalent posts this represents.

Liam Byrne: Information on the number of healthcare scientists working in the cardiology area of work as at September 2004 is shown in the table.
	
		NHS hospital and community health services: qualified healthcare scientists in the cardiology area of work in England by level as at 30 September 2004
		
			  Full time equivalent Headcount 
		
		
			 England 1,955 2,187 
			 Consultant Clinical Scientist (Grade C) 10 10 
			 Clinical Scientist (Grade A and B) 28 30 
			 MTO/Technician 1,797 2,022 
			 Cyto-screener 121 125 
		
	
	Notes:
	Full time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number.
	Source:
	Health and Social Care Information Centre, non-medical workforce census cardiac Physiologists had not been separately collected from other healthcare scientists until the 2004 workforce census.

Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer of 25 October 2005, Official Report, column 156, to the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Stephen Hammond) on NHS finance, what the level of deficit was in each year for (a) each hospital within the Merseyside/Cheshire strategic health authority (SHA) area and (b) the SHA itself.

Liam Byrne: Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority (SHA) was formed in 2002–03. The final financial position for each national health service trust covered by Cheshire and Merseyside SHA and for the Cheshire and Merseyside SHA for the years 2002–03 to 2004–05 are shown in the table.
	The table also includes the 2005–06 month six forecast financial position for both the Cheshire and Merseyside SHA and for the NHS trusts covered by the SHA.
	
		
			 £000 
			  NHS trust under/(over) spend 
			 NHS trust name 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06(40) 
		
		
			 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust 30 15 38 -4,071 
			 Aintree Hospitals NHS Trust 5 5 7 0 
			 Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Trust 3 33 13 0 
			 Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology Trust 6 22 32 0 
			 Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Trust(41) 2 1 n/a n/a 
			 East Cheshire NHS Trust 10 19 24 -13,500 
			 Liverpool Women's Hospital NHS Trust(42) 9 7 7 n/a 
			 Mersey Care NHS Trust 2,428 0 9 0 
			 Mersey Regional Ambulance Service 5 6 15 0 
			 North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust 8 25 84 -2,000 
			 Royal Liverpool Broadgreen Hospital NHS Trust 0 0 0 -2,389 
			 Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust 1 3 10 -2,055 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital 7 1 -1,189 -15,000 
			 St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals 2 93 9 0 
			 The Cardiothoracic Cntr—Liverpool 0 0 0 0 
			 The Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS 23 3 31 -6,044 
			 Walton Neurology Centre NHS Trust 15 10 10 0 
			 Wirral Hospital NHS Trust 19 16 25 0 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside SHA 189 5,234 6,483 17,596 
		
	
	(40) Month 6 forecast.
	(41) Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Trust achieved NHS foundation trust status on 1 April 2004.
	(42) Liverpool Women's Hospital NHS Trust achieved NHS foundation trust status on 1 April 2004.
	Source:
	Audited summarisation schedules 2002–03 to 2004–05.
	2005–06 Month 6 Financial Monitoring returns.

Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was allocated by her Department to Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority for (a) capital projects and (b) revenue funding in each of the last five years; and what the purpose of each allocation was.

Liam Byrne: Cheshire and Merseyside strategic health authority (SHA) was formed in 2002–03. The capital allocations made to Cheshire and Merseyside SHA for the years 2003–04 to 2005–06 are shown in the table.
	
		Cheshire and Merseyside SHA economy £000
		
			  2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 
		
		
			 Operational capital 39,082 43,885 49,038 
			 Access fund 5,603 5,603 5,603 
			 Strategic capital 37,805 41,940 50,589 
			 
			 Total 82,490 91,428 105,230 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Strategic capital is allocated for prioritisation by the SHA across the health economy. Strategic capital is allocated to NHS trusts and primary care trusts (PCTs) for larger capital projects facilitating strategic change. 2. Operational capital is allocated directly to NHS trusts and PCTs within the SHA health economy for minor capital developments and equipment replacement. 3. The access fund is allocated to the SHA to reward progress against access targets within the patch.
	Cheshire and Merseyside SHA has received revenue allocations for its running costs of £4.7 million in 2003–04, £5.1 million in 2004–05 and £5.4 million in 2005–06. This funding is to cover the day-to-day operational management and running of the SHA to allow it to carry out its responsibilities and functions.
	In addition, revenue allocations are made to PCTs to enable them to commission health care for their local populations. The funding covers hospital and community health services, prescribing and primary medical services. The revenue allocations for 2003–06 and 2006–08 for PCTs in the Cheshire and Merseyside SHA are shown in the tables.
	
		PCT recurrent revenue allocations 2003–04 to 2005–06
		
			  Allocation Three year increase 
			 PCT 2003–04 (£000) 2004–05 (£000) 2005–06 (£000) £000 Percentage 
		
		
			 Bebington and West Wirral 99,993 108,879 118,128 26,451 28.9 
			 Birkenhead and Wallasey 224,569 246,463 269,198 65,022 31.8 
			 Central Cheshire 203,159 222,612 242,996 57,968 31.3 
			 Central Liverpool 286,884 321,165 358,315 102,963 40.3 
			 Cheshire West 138,205 150,791 164,098 37,635 29.8 
			 Eastern Cheshire 161,386 175,727 190,654 42,696 28.9 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston 77,814 84,726 91,920 20,609 28.9 
			 Halton 122,778 134,429 146,687 34,760 31.1 
			 Knowsley 163,276 183,010 204,420 59,356 40.9 
			 North Liverpool 118,120 132,316 147,710 42,669 40.6 
			 South Liverpool 100,413 110,029 120,103 28,648 31.3 
			 South Sefton 161,978 177,546 193,820 46,336 31.4 
			 Southport and Formby 115,701 125,978 136,676 30,640 28.9 
			 St. Helens 181,808 199,906 222,113 57,142 34.6 
			 Warrington 163,513 178,963 195,266 46,165 31.0 
		
	
	
		PCT recurrent revenue allocations 2006–07 to 2007–08
		
			  Allocation Two year increase 
			 PCT 2006–07 (£000) 2007–08 (£000) £000 Percentage 
		
		
			 Bebington and West Wirral 138,522 149,618 21,738 17.0 
			 Birkenhead and Wallasey 321,016 350,999 57,453 19.6 
			 Central Cheshire 292,951 322,527 53,963 20.1 
			 Central Liverpool 418,642 457,809 75,054 19.6 
			 Cheshire West 196,578 215,305 35,034 19.4 
			 Eastern Cheshire 229,873 248,604 35,883 16.9 
			 Ellesmere Port and Neston 107,271 116,811 17,700 17.9 
			 Halton 172,678 187,634 29,149 18.4 
			 Knowsley 243,375 268,697 53,958 25.1 
			 North Liverpool 173,387 191,147 34,969 22.4 
			 South Liverpool 141,193 154,399 25,309 19.6 
			 South Sefton 227,817 249,358 40,444 19.4 
			 Southport and Formby 161,841 175,035 25,382 17.0 
			 St. Helens 262,020 286,542 47,175 19.7 
			 Warrington 237,103 259,050 42,332 19.5

Day Surgery

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her latest estimate is of the number of in-patient procedures which could be performed as day surgery; and what savings she estimates would have resulted from such a reconfiguration of services in the latest year for which figures are available.

Liam Byrne: Data on elective general and acute admissions and day case rates are published in the "Chief Executive's Report to the NHS, Statistical Supplement—December 2005". The statistical supplement is available on the Department's website at: www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/12/43/03/04124303.pdf.
	No specific mechanism has been set up to estimate the information requested. To provide this information could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, we know from studies commissioned by local national health service trusts and other interested organisations that the benefits of switching patients to day case surgery are likely to outweigh the costs of implementing such a change of services.

Government Shift Programme

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding she has allocated to the Government Shift programme for 2006–07; and how much money has been allocated to this programme since 2004.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 30 January 2006
	The service increment for teaching supports the cost to health care providers of providing a clinical setting for medical and dental undergraduate training. Budgets for 2006–07 have not been set yet. Funding for 2004–05 and 2005–06 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Funding 
		
		
			 2004–05 733,196,000 
			 2005–06 803,654,000

Head Lice

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment she has made of the incidence of head lice in schools in each local authority area in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what resources she has made available to each local education authority area in 2005–06 to reduce the incidence of head lice; and if she will make a statement;
	(3)  what mechanisms exist to monitor the incidence of head lice in schools; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Information on the incidence of head lice infestation is not collected centrally. Head lice infestations depend upon head-to-head contact, which is relatively common among younger school-age children while working together, or playing at school. Our policy, which is shared by the Department for Education and Skills, is to encourage a "whole school approach". This entails encouraging parents to check their children and other family members for head lice as the need arises, and arranging treatment where necessary, with advice and support from the local primary health care team (general practitioner, health visitor, school nurse or local pharmacist).
	If this exercise is undertaken at the same time by families with children attending a school, then the spread of head lice will be arrested. Primary health care teams are resourced to support this activity. The Department has provided a leaflet containing guidance on the prevention and treatment of head lice. This promotes the benefits of identifying and arranging treatment, where needed, on a day which schools may determine. The leaflet is available in hard copy and on the Department's website at www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/ll/63/47/04116347.pdf.

Health Expenditure

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what level of expenditure will be committed to support (a) the improvements to alcohol treatment provision announced on 1 November and (b) the provision of health trainers announced on 11 August by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health; how much expenditure there has been on each programme; and whether the expenditure is financed from the Centrally Funded Initiatives and Services and Special Allocations budget of her Department in each case.

Caroline Flint: We now have 78 partnerships in the early adopter phase of health trainers, prison sites in each region, the army and Initial cleaning company.
	A breakdown of where the money has been spent and cost centres is shown in the table.
	
		National health service health trainers provision and expenditure £ million
		
			  Year to date Provision Future provision 
			  2005–06 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 
		
		
			 Securing health care for those who need it 4.905 5.00 — — 
			 PCT Allocations — — 36.00 77.00 
			 Securing social care and child protection for those who need it and,  at national level, protecting, promoting and improving the nation's health 0.346 2.20 2.0 2.0

Hearing Services

Paul Truswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact on (a) waiting lists and (b) waiting times for digital hearing aids of the introduction of programmes to expand their availability; and if she will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: Several initiatives have been introduced to improve capacity to deliver audiology services. These are the national framework contract public private partnership to bring in additional independent sector capacity, the development of a new degree to help to address the shortage of audiologists and the introduction of "Hearing Direct" which is follow-up care and advice for hearing aid users who would benefit from this.
	The figures on waiting times for digital hearing aids are not collected centrally. It is for primary care trusts to ensure their local population benefits from modernised hearing aid services.

Illegal Drug Use

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken to reduce the number of deaths from illegal drug use.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 23 January 2006
	In November 2001, the Government set a target to reduce the number of drug-related deaths by 20 per cent. by 2004 in England and Wales as part of an action plan to reduce drug-related deaths. Progress against the target is calculated against a 1999 Office for National Statistics (ONS) baseline. The latest ONS data available are for 2003, which show that drug-related deaths have declined for three consecutive years.
	Since the action plan was published, the Department has focused efforts on improving the surveillance and monitoring of drug use; improving access to and consistency of prescribing treatment; and guidance to commissioners and providers of treatment and to users on limiting the risk of overdose.
	Accessible information and support is available to young people and their families on the risks associated with drug misuse through the innovative "Frank" campaign. We are also getting more people in to drug treatment than ever before and this will be boosted by the increase of funding for drug action teams, which will continue to take forward the positive progress we are already making.

Infection Control

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when the research commissioned by her Department on the number of single rooms needed for effective infection control will be published; and if she will place a copy in the Library;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the number of single rooms needed in hospital settings for the effective control of (a) hospital acquired infections and (b) future outbreaks of an influenza pandemic; and if she will make a statement.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 26 January 2006
	Leeds General Infirmary and the University of Leeds are carrying out the following research project:
	"What is the size and nature of the current need for single room isolation in hospital, and how does success or failure to isolate patients affect the control of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)?"
	The project is due to finish shortly and we expect to publish a report in the summer. A copy will be placed in the Library.
	The research project will help us assess requirements for controlling hospital acquired infections. During an influenza pandemic it is likely that patients would be cohorted rather than kept in isolation.

Mental Health Services

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting times for patients in Easington constituency to see (a) a consultant psychiatrist and (b) a psychologist were in each year since 2002.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		Waiting times for first out-patient appointment following general practitioner (GP) written referral, September 2002 to September 2005, provider based Effective length of wait from receipt of GP written referral request to first out-patient attendance (weeks)
		
			 Quarter (September)  Code  Name  0 to <4  4 to <13  13 to <17  17 to <21  21 plus Median wait (weeks) 
		
		
			 2002 RTC County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust 243 163 12 7 24 3.7 
			 2003 RTC County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust 194 69 0 0 0 2.7 
			 2004 RTC County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 0 n/a 
			 2005 RTC County Durham and Darlington Priority Services NHS Trust 0 0 0 0 0 n/a 
			  
			 2002 RVX Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust 262 203 15 3 2 3.7 
			 2003 RVX Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust 257 259 2 1 0 4.1 
			 2004 RVX Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust 222 170 0 0 0 3.5 
			 2005 RVX Tees and North East Yorkshire NHS Trust 215 184 1 0 0 3.7 
		
	
	n/a=Not available.
	Notes:
	Data for specialties
	710 Mental Illness
	711 Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
	712 Forensic Psychiatry
	713 Psychotherapy
	715 Old Age Psychiatry
	1. Due to small numbers, the calculation of the median wait is prone to fluctuation. Care should be taken when interpreting these figures.
	2. Waiting times apply to consultant-led appointments only. Services in many areas are now run by multi disciplinary teams.
	Source:
	Department of Health form QM08.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health further to her statement of 15 November 22005, Official Report, column 849, on NHS finance, if she will publish the analysis from which her statement was derived, with the cost increase between 1999–2000 and 2004–05 broken down by (a) medical secretaries, (b) record keepers, (c) health educators, (d) IT technicians, (e) financial managers, (f) caterers, (g) launderers, (h) cleaners and (i) all other staff; and what proportion of the total NHS budget was spent on administrative staff, as defined in her statement, in (i) 1999–2000 and (ii) 2004–05.

Liam Byrne: Information on cost increases for the specific staff categories requested is not collected centrally.
	The analysis of administration as a proportion of the total national health service budget calculated to 2003–04 is shown in the table.
	
		
			   £000 
			  1999–2000 2003–04 
		
		
			 Administration spend 2,158,000 3,345,000 
			 Total NHS spend 40,201,000 63,001,000 
			 Administration as percentage of NHS spend 5.4 5.3 
		
	
	Administration spend includes administration costs in health authorities and primary care trusts and management costs in NHS trusts 1 .
	NHS Administration Cost figures for 2004–5 are not directly comparable due to a change in collection methods 2 .
	Sources:
	1 Audited summarisation schedules of health authorities, strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and NHS trusts for 1999–2000 and 2003–04 as appropriate. 2 Admin and Clerical figures from Admin and Estates Staffing Costs (cash terms).
	
		
			  2004–05 (£ million) 
		
		
			 Administration spend 3,412 
			 Total NHS spend 69,706 
			 Administration as percentage of NHS spend 4.9

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total (a) strategic health authority, (b) NHS trust and (c) primary care trust revenue expenditure was in each year since 1997; how much was accounted for by (i) salaries and wages, (ii) supplies and services-general, (iii) supplies and services-clinical, (iv) establishment expenses, (v) premises and fixed plant, (vi) cost of use of capital assets, (vii) purchase of health care from non-NHS bodies, (viii) external contract staff and (ix) all other major cost areas in each year; and what assessment she has made of how these expenditure streams may develop in the years until 2010.

Liam Byrne: The requested information from 1997–98 to 2004–05 is shown in the table. Information is not available up to 2010.
	
		National health service expenditure 1997 to 2005 £000
		
			  1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 
		
		
			 Strategic health authorities (SHAs)
			 Salaries and wages 409,346 428,343 519,520 596,121 
			 Supplies and services-general 2,508 2,560 3,254 2,841 
			 Supplies and services-clinical 7,197 11,375 15,270 13,030 
			 Establishment expenses 57,972 60,787 63,511 76,313 
			 Premises and fixed plant 83,458 88,981 88,683 120,205 
			 Cost of use of capital assets 119,520 74,077 139,756 -41,176 
			 Purchase of health care from non-NHS bodies 985,746 1,108,472 1,166,413 1,328,208 
			 External contract staff and consultancy 24,838 28,537 35,056 42,097 
			 Other expenditure 319,989 586,681 1,222,185 1,447,268 
			  
			 Total revenue expenditure 2,010,574 2,389,813 3,253,648 3,584,907 
			  
			 Primary care trusts (PCTs)
			 Salaries and wages — — — 121,682 
			 Supplies and services-general — — — 3,792 
			 Supplies and services-clinical — — — 45,183 
			 Establishment expenses — — — 11,994 
			 Premises and fixed plant — — — 13,137 
			 Cost of use of capital assets — — — 5,112 
			 Purchase of health care from non-NHS bodies — — — 33,742 
			 External contract staff and consultancy — — — 916 
			 Other expenditure — — — 22,775 
			  
			 Total revenue expenditure — — — 258,333 
			  
			 NHS trusts 
			 Salaries and wages 15,689,601 16,652,762 18,188,706 19,811,609 
			 Supplies and services-general 631,812 703,501 752,143 796,346 
			 Supplies and services-clinical 2,841,335 3,145,624 3,418,190 3,826,004 
			 Establishment expenses 811,493 843,828 892,723 990,416 
			 Premises and fixed plant 1,476,264 1,468,014 1,460,136 1,646,767 
			 Cost of use of capital assets 945,639 998,614 2,301,450 1,160,915 
			 Purchase of health care from non-NHS bodies 122,436 121,954 134,784 187,190 
			 External contract staff and consultancy 110,722 93,072 93,304 105,853 
			 Other expenditure 689,014 1,330,337 1,808,515 1,632,415 
			  
			 Total revenue expenditure 23,318,316 25,357,706 29,049,951 30,157,515 
		
	
	
		
			  2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Strategic health authorities (SHAs)
			 Salaries and wages 603,852 178,475 161,000 203,494 
			 Supplies and services-general 6,900 1,782 582 696 
			 Supplies and services-clinical 20,421 1,298 1,050 909 
			 Establishment expenses 83,313 21,866 20,604 23,863 
			 Premises and fixed plant 114,419 43,186 31,970 30,471 
			 Cost of use of capital assets -36,230 4,003 5,193 2,766 
			 Purchase of health care from non-NHS bodies 1,136,793 27,234 3,329 0 
			 External contract staff and consultancy 66,855 19,648 17,278 15,620 
			 Other expenditure 1,497,339 2,908,293 3,255,278 3,446,986 
			  
			 Total revenue expenditure 3,493,662 3,205,785 3,496,284 3,724,805 
			  
			 Primary care trusts (PCTs)
			 Salaries and wages 1,487,000 4,365,127 4,845,299 5,750,413 
			 Supplies and services-general 51,895 157,033 146,496 124,285 
			 Supplies and services-clinical 143,798 348,936 357,501 325,803 
			 Establishment expenses 115,116 348,622 407,454 425,876 
			 Premises and fixed plant 105,079 354,216 392,468 397,066 
			 Cost of use of capital assets 82,767 216,755 231,932 252,550 
			 Purchase of health care from non-NHS bodies 409,936 1,184,372 2,903,763 3,353,036 
			 External contract staff and consultancy 16,090 59,154 53,101 55,925 
			 Other expenditure 251,268 2,043,987 764,705 630,036 
			  
			 Total revenue expenditure 2,662,949 9,078,202 10,102,719 11,314,990 
			  
			 NHS trusts 
			 Salaries and wages 21,120,826 21,368,230 23,553,819 24,020,430 
			 Supplies and services-general 814,984 785,673 832,940 661,264 
			 Supplies and services-clinical 4,141,182 4,463,604 4,966,667 3,911,597 
			 Establishment expenses 996,554 926,965 978,122 868,706 
			 Premises and fixed plant 1,644,660 1,534,385 1,553,125 1,433,187 
			 Cost of use of capital assets 1,171,855 1,320,214 1,379,788 1,321,260 
			 Purchase of health care from non-NHS bodies 246,239 338,172 408,800 312,988 
			 External contract staff and consultancy 125,948 149,438 157,425 135,150 
			 Other expenditure 810,494 1,065,124 997,102 754,939 
			  
			 Total revenue expenditure 31,072,742 31,951,805 34,827,788 33,419,521 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Data from financial returns. Although data is not audited, it is reconciled to figures in the audited accounts.
	2. 2004–05 NHS trust figures do not contain NHS foundation trusts.
	3. 2004–05 data is still subject to amendment, although significant changes are unlikely.
	4. 2004–05 financial returns data has been used to answer parliamentary questions.

NHS Finance

Quentin Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the incremental funding available to the NHS since 1997 has been spent on (a) higher wages, (b) shorter working hours, (c) administrative costs including contractors, consultants and external legal expenses and (d) incremental medical services provided to patients.

Liam Byrne: The table gives details of the attribution of additional resources spent across the national health service since 1997.
	
		
			  Cash accounting increase 1997–98 to 2000–01 Stage two resource accounting increase 2000–01 to 2004–05 
		
		
			 Real increase in total NHS DEL(43) (£ billion) 7.6 20.0 
			
			 Apportionment of Increase:   
			 Staff and pay(44)(46) (Percentage) 47 53 
			 Of which:   
			 Higher wages (Percentage) 33 29 
			 Additional staff (Percentage) 13 23 
			
			 Drugs (Percentage) 17 13 
			 Others(46) (Percentage) 36 34 
		
	
	(43) Figures calculated in 2004–05 prices by applying Gross Domestic Product deflator.
	(44) From 2003–04 onwards, the Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) for the Department was increased by a switch from the exchequers annually managed expenditure spending to cover the increased costs of pensions. An addition of £1.6 billion was made to the NHS DEL to cover these costs from 2003–04 onwards. While this change affected the overall level of NHS Expenditure, they did not increase or decrease the spending power of the NHS. It is cost neutral. For purpose of comparability, the extra expenditure has been stripped out of pay and included in others.
	(45) Pay has been estimated by combining NHS Accounts information, accounts data for foundation trusts from Monitor, and general medical practice data based on latest information on the new general practitioner contract. Increases in staff are based on census returns, the proportion of extra funds to new staff and pay is based annual comparison of growth in pay bill with growth in NHS staff numbers (weighted by pay).
	(46) Examples of other incremental expenditure include: buildings, equipment, training, research and development, supplies of services.
	Note:
	This analysis may not be directly comparable to previously published analyses due to revisions to forecasts, estimates and GDP deflators.

Paediatric Continence Services

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what action she plans to take to promote the development of integrated paediatric continence services in every primary care trust;
	(2)  what assessment she has made of the effects of integrated continence services to children with persistent bladder and bowel problems.

Liam Byrne: Primary care trusts will be assessed increasingly against the standards identified in the national service framework for children, young people and maternity services, and their progress toward meeting these standards, including standard six, which recommends integrated paediatric continence services. This is in line with our assessment that integrated community-based paediatric continence services, informed by our previous guidance, "Good Practice in Paediatric Continence Services", can help children with incontinence problems and their parents or carers to access care and treatment more easily. The guidance is available on the Department's website at: www. cgsupport.nhs.uk/PDFs/articles/good_practice_ paediatric_continence_services.pdf.

Primary Care Trusts

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether it is her intention to encourage primary care trusts to reduce direct provision of services to a minimum.

Liam Byrne: It is not the intention to encourage primary care trusts to reduce direct provision of services to a minimum. The Secretary of State made this clear in her statement to Parliament on 25 October 2005, stating:
	"District nurses, health visitors and other staff delivering clinical services will continue to be employed by their PCT, unless and until the PCT decides otherwise"
	and
	"any such decisions would be driven locally following our White Paper deliberation".
	We do not have a policy requirement or timetable for primary care trusts (PCTs) to divest themselves of provision. We will support PCTs whether or not they divest themselves of service provision, provided that what is being offered is genuinely best for local patient care.

Departmental Advertising

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the public information advertising campaigns run by her Department in the past 12 months; and how much her Department spent on (a) newspapers and (b) television advertising for those campaigns.

Maria Eagle: The following table lists spend on newspapers and television for public information advertising campaigns in the last 12 months.
	
		
			   £000 
			 Campaign Newspaper spend Television advertising 
		
		
			 Fast Track recruitment 66 0 
			 Student Finance 318 2,418 
			 Adult Basic Skills 283 2,588 
			 Foundation Degrees 18 0 
			 Parents Centre Website 189 0 
			 Sure Start 251 0 
			 Parents Centre Website 161 0 
			 Every Child Matters 2 0 
			 Teenage Pregnancy 80 0 
			 Childcare Recruitment 271 0 
			 Total Spend 1,642 5,006

Education Maintenance Allowance

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many people received education maintenance allowances in (a) Stroud constituency, (b) Gloucestershire and (c) England in each year since the inception of the scheme; and what estimate she has made of the impact of the scheme on the percentage stay-on rate for 16-year-olds;
	(2)  how many people (a) were eligible for and (b) took up education maintenance allowances in (i) Stroud constituency, (ii) Gloucestershire and (iii) England in the last year for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: The first part of question 41530 and question 41531 are matters for the Learning and Skills Council. Mark Haysom, the Council's Chief Executive, will write to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
	Regarding the impact of EMA, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I have given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 16 January 2006, Official Report, column 1015W.
	Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 30 January 2006
	I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Questions that asked "how many people received education maintenance allowances in each year since the inception of the scheme in (a) Stroud constituency, (b) Gloucestershire and (c) England?; and how many people (a) were eligible for and (b) took up education maintenance allowances in (i) Stroud constituency, (ii) Gloucestershire and (iii) England, in the last year for which figures are available?".
	Information on the number of young people who have applied for, enrolled and received EMA is available at local education authority level, but not at constituency level. The information relates to the academic years.
	EMA was piloted in 56 areas before launching the national scheme. Gloucestershire local education authority was not a pilot area. EMA was rolled-out nationally in the academic year 2004/05. In this year, EMA was available to all 16-years-olds nationally and to 17 and 18-years-olds in former pilot areas (young people who are 19 are entitled to receive EMA in certain circumstances).
	The following table displays data for Gloucestershire local education authority area and England.
	
		
			  Number of young people receiving at least one EMA payment 
			 Area 2001/02 (Pilot) 2002/03 (Pilot) 2003/04 (Pilot) 2004/05 (National) 
		
		
			 Gloucestershire n/a n/a n/a 2,125 
			 England (51)127,900 (51)125,600 (51)115,800 297,500 
		
	
	(51) No data is available prior to 2001/02. For 2001/02–2003/04, no data is available for Sunderland, East Lancashire or Suffolk. Therefore, figures for England (pilot areas) are approximate only.
	In preparation for the national roll-out, projections of the number of young people eligible for EMA were only made for 16-years-olds. The projections are formed by applying income distributions (derived from the Family Resources Survey) and expected numbers in full-time further education to the estimated population of 16-years-olds. When applied to individual localities the figures may be subject to some variation but they provide a useful estimate.
	The following table displays the data for Gloucestershire local education authority area and England.
	
		
			  Take-up of EMA by 16-years-olds in 2004/05 
			 Area Projected number eligible Actual take-up Percentage take-up 
		
		
			 Gloucestershire 2,210 2,125 96.15 
			 England 266,000 217,360 81.71 
		
	
	I hope this information is helpful and addresses your question. If you would like further details please contact Chris Bradley at the LSC National Office on 0114 207 4512 or Christopher. Bradley@lsc.gov.uk

Education White Paper

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions she has had with representatives from the North East region regarding the education White Paper "Higher Standards, Better Schools for All".

Jacqui Smith: The Secretary of State has been in the north east of England on a number of occasions in recent months. She met with local MPs and councillors and among other issues she discussed the White Paper "Higher Standards, Better Schools for All". She also addressed the delegates in the North of England Conference in Gateshead on 6 January.

Education White Paper

Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many representations she has received from Wales about the cross-border implications of the White Paper on Schools, "Higher Standards, Better Schools for All: More Choice for Parents and Pupils".

Jacqui Smith: The Department has received over 200 representations from a wide range of organisations, Members of Parliament and members of the public which directly refer to the White Paper. We have not received any representations from Wales which specifically refer to cross border implications of the White Paper on Schools, "Higher Standards, Better Schools for All: More Choice for Parents and Pupils".

Fire Safety

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her Department's timetable is for bringing forward final proposals on design and managing against the risk of fire in schools.

Jacqui Smith: The draft of Building Bulletin 100, "Designing and Managing Against the Risk of Fire in Schools", has been out to public consultation and an analysis of the responses should be completed by the end of March. Work will then commence on a final version and we expect to be able to publish this during the summer.

GCSE Performance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to improve the performance of pupils who attain fewer than five GCSEs or equivalent at grade A* to C.

Jacqui Smith: We have made good progress in the number of pupils getting five or more GCSEs or equivalent at grade A* to C. In 2005, 56.3 per cent. of 15- year-olds achieved five or more GCSEs or equivalent—a 2.6 percentage point increase on 2004 results and an increase of 11.2 percentage points compared with 1997. Over 67,000 more pupils are now achieving at this level than did so in 1997. We have also made good progress in the percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs or equivalent at grade A* to C including English and mathematics, which rose from 42.6 per cent. in 2004 to 44.3 per cent. in 2005. This was the biggest annual percentage point increase since 1997.
	The Department has a number of initiatives to ensure that schools receive the resources, advice and support that they need to raise attainment further at key stage 4. The key stage 3 national strategy has extended to become a full secondary national strategy for school improvement designed to raise standards, particularly in the core subjects, for all secondary school pupils. It aims to introduce excellent teaching and learning practices into every classroom through CPD, teaching materials and consultancy support. In addition, we are drawing on the expertise of successful schools and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust to work in partnership with around 400 schools underperforming in value added terms.
	The White Paper "Higher Standards, Better Schools for All" published in October 2005 sets out our plans to improve standards further, particularly by providing significant new incentives for schools to tailor education to the needs of every child and focus on the basics of English and mathematics.

Home Tutors

James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  to what regulations home tutors are subject;
	(2)  whether an individual who has been convicted of a sexual offence may work as a home tutor; and if she will make a statement.

Ruth Kelly: holding answer 20 January 2006
	Where an individual is barred from working with children under section 142 of the Education Act 2002 on the grounds that he or she is "unsuitable to work with children", it is a criminal offence to work or seek work in any position that includes training or being in sole charge of a child or children. A person guilty of this offence is liable, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine and, on indictment, to imprisonment for up to five years and/or a fine.
	The Department would strongly advise parents to verify the credentials of any person employed to provide private tuition for a child, particularly if that person is likely to be alone with the child at any time. For example, parents could ask prospective tutors for references from a recent employer.
	The Department is fully aware that parents currently have limited access to information. The new scheme to be implemented as part of the Bichard Inquiry Recommendations will allow parents to access relevant information on people they wish to employ as home tutors.
	I made clear in my statement to the House on 12 January, we are committed to implementing Sir Michael Bichard's recommendations to tighten the system of vetting and barring people who wish to work with children and that will entail the ability for parents to check whether tutors, nannies, and other individuals whom they employ, are barred or disqualified.

Nursery Places

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) three and (b) four-year-olds whose parents had requested a nursery place did not have one allocated to them in each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	All four-year-olds have been entitled to a free early education place since 1998 and from April 2004 this entitlement was extended to all three-year-olds. The free entitlement consists of a minimum of five two and a half hour sessions per week for 33 weeks of the year for six terms before statutory school age, which is the term following their fifth birthday.
	Some local authorities may additionally offer subsidised child care places but this information is not collected centrally.
	Figures for January 2005 show that all four-year-old children are benefiting from some free provision. The figure for three-years-olds is 96 per cent. This covers all maintained, private, voluntary and independent providers and represents 535,100 three-year-olds and 568,300 four-year-olds.
	The available information on the number of three and four-year-old children taking up nursery education places in England is shown in the tables.
	The latest figures on nursery education places for three and four-year-olds in England were published in Statistical First Release 43/2005 "Provision for children under five years of age in England—January 2005 (final)" in September, which is available on my Department's website www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/
	
		Table 1: Number of three-year-olds taking up nursery education places(58)(59)(60) by type of early years provider—England 2001–05
		
			  Position in January each year 
			  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Private and voluntary providers(61)  
			 Number 285,100 283,200 (62)321,500 (62)330,300 (62)327,000 
			 Percentage of population(63) 47 48 56 59 59 
			 Number taking up free places (64)116,900 (64)184,600 (7) (62)(64)264,500 (64)288,400 (64)302,000 
			 Percentage of population(63) 19 31 46 51 54 
			   
			 Independent schools(65)  
			 Number 27,200 27,400 26,800 26,200 24,800 
			 Percentage of population(63) 5 5 5 5 4 
			 Number taking up free places (64)6,100 (64)10,700 (62)(62)16,100 (64)15,800 (64)17,300 
			 Percentage of population (6) 1 2 3 3 3 
			 Maintained nursery and primary schools  
			 Number 226,800 223,500 218,700 215,300 214,300 
			 Percentage of population(63) 38 38 38 38 38 
			   
			 Nursery schools and nursery classes in primary schools  
			 Number n/a 222,000 216,200 212,000 209,500 
			 Percentage of population(63) n/a 37 37 33 38 
			   
			 Infant classes in primary schools(66)  
			 Number n/a 1,600 2,500 3,300 4,800 
			 Percentage of population(63) n/a — — 1 1 
			   
			 Special schools10,11  
			 Number 2,300 2,100 1,900 1,700 1,600 
			 Percentage of population(63) — — — — — 
			   
			 All providers(58)(59)  
			 Number 541,100 536,300 (62)568,900 (62)573,500 (62)567,600 
			 Percentage of population(63) 90 90 98 102 102 
			 Number taking up free places 351,900 421,000 (62)(64)501,200 (64)521,200 (64)535,100 
			 Percentage of population(63) 59 71 87 93 96 
		
	
	n/a=not available.
	—=less than 0.5 per cent.
	(58) Headcount of children aged three at 31 December in the previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest hundred.
	(59) Numbers of three-year-olds in schools may include some two-year-olds.
	(60) Any child attending more than one provider may have been counted twice.
	(61) Includes some local authority providers (other than schools) registered to receive Nursery Education Grants; excludes independent schools and providers not registered to receive Nursery Education Grants.
	(62) Scaled up from the data returned for the Early Years Census exercise to all providers of early years education.
	(63) Numbers of three-year-olds taking up places expressed as a percentage of the three-year-old population.
	(64) Providers returned the number of places for three-year-olds for which they had received or expected to receive funding.
	(65) Includes direct grant nursery schools and city academies.
	(66) Includes reception and other classes not designated as nursery classes.
	(67) 0 Includes general hospital schools.
	(68)
	(69) Excludes pupils who are also registered elsewhere.
	(70)
	(71) Rounding of components may cause discrepancies in totals.
	
		Table 2: Number of four-year-olds taking up nursery education places(71)(72) by type of early years provider—England 2001–05
		
			  Position in January each year 
			  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 
		
		
			 Private and voluntary providers(73)  
			 Number 101,100 96,500 (74)107,100 (74)115,100 (74)105,900 
			 Percentage of population(75) 17 16 18 20 19 
			 Number taking up free places (76)91,300 (76)89,500 (74)(75)100,600 (76)100,100 (76)94,700 
			 Percentage of population(75) 15 15 17 17 17 
			   
			 Independent schools(77)  
			 Number 28,300 29,400 29,000 28,500 27,200 
			 Percentage of population(75) 5 5 5 5 5 
			 Number taking up free places (76)21,200 (76)21,200 (74)(75)24,400 (76)22,600 (76)21,900 
			 Percentage of population(75) 3 4 4 4 4 
			   
			 Maintained nursery and primary schools  
			 Number 482,800 477,700 472,200 461,100 449,500 
			 Percentage of population(75) 79 80 80 80 80 
			   
			 Nursery schools and nursery classes in primary schools  
			 Number n/a 119,400 115,100 108,200 102,800 
			 Percentage of population(75) n/a 20 19 19 18 
			   
			 Infant classes in primary schools(78)  
			 Number n/a 358,300 357,000 352,900 346,700 
			 Percentage of population(75) n/a 60 60 61 62 
			   
			 Special schools9,10  
			 Number 2,700 2,700 2,500 2,400 2,100 
			 Percentage of population(75) — — — — — 
			 All providers(71)(72)  
			 Number 614,900 606,300 (74)610,800 (74)607,100 (74)584,700 
			 Percentage of population(75) 101 101 103 105 104 
			 Number taking up free places 598,000 591,100 (74)(75)599,700 (76)586,300 (76)568,300 
			 Percentage of population(75) 98 98 101 101 101 
		
	
	n/a=not available.
	—=less than 0.5 per cent.
	Headcount of children aged four at 31 December in the previous calendar year, rounded to the nearest hundred.
	(72) Any child attending more than one provider may have been counted twice.
	(73) Includes some local authority providers (other than schools) registered to receive nursery education grants; excludes independent schools and providers not registered to receive nursery education grants.
	(74) Scaled up from the data returned for the Early Years Census exercise to all providers of early years education.
	(75) Numbers of four-year-olds taking up places expressed as a percentage of the four-year-old population.
	(76) Providers returned the number of places for four-year-olds for which they had received or expected to receive funding.
	(77) Includes direct grant nursery schools and city academies.
	(78) Includes reception and other classes not designated as nursery classes.
	(79) Includes general hospital schools.
	(80) 0 Excludes pupils who are also registered elsewhere.
	(81)
	(82) Rounding of components may cause discrepancies in totals.

Playing for Success (Hartlepool)

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the Playing for Success initiative in Hartlepool.

Jacqui Smith: Hartlepool United FC is one of more than 150 sports clubs and venues currently signed up to the Department's "Playing for Success" (PfS) initiative, which is establishing study support centres in or near their grounds. Four consecutive national evaluation studies have shown that PfS is highly effective in meeting its objectives of improving the literacy, numeracy and ICT skills of pupils at key stages 2 and 3, as well as boosting their motivation and self esteem. Hartlepool's Centre was not open at the time of the last evaluation. However, the local authority's annual report of the Centre's work in 2004—05 echoes the national findings.

Pupil Performance

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of school pupils who are performing below national expectation.

Jacqui Smith: Record achievements have been made by pupils in both primary and secondary schools since 1997, as measured by the results from national curriculum tests and public examinations. Last year there were improvements at every key stage, with GCSE and equivalent results showing the biggest annual increase for over a decade.
	The following tables show the number and proportion of pupils who did not achieve the target level for their age in each of the national curriculum tests taken at the end of key stages 2 and 3 in 2005, compared to 1997. The tables also show the number and proportion of 15-year-olds who did not achieve the Government's national target of five or more A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent qualifications in 2005, compared to 1997.
	The figures for key stages 2 and 3 represent the number and proportion of children entered for each individual test who are performing below the target level. An individual pupil could be counted under one, two or three headings depending on whether the child is performing below in more than one subject.
	
		Key stage 2 Thousands
		
			  Number of 11-year-olds below level 4(87) 
			  1997 2005 
		
		
			 English 196.6 122.9 
			 Percentage 34 20 
			
			 Mathematics 205.0 146.1 
			 Percentage 36 24 
		
	
	
		Key stage 3 Thousands
		
			  Number of 14-year-olds below level 5(87)(88) 
			  1997 2005 
		
		
			 English 204.2 138.1 
			 Percentage 39 23 
			
			 Mathematics 191.4 143.2 
			 Percentage 37 24 
			
			 Science 185.9 168.2 
			 Percentage 36 28 
		
	
	
		Key stage 4 Thousands
		
			  Number of 15-year-olds with fewer than 5 A*-C GCSEs or equivalent 
		
		
			 1997 321.2 
			 Percentage 54.90 
			   
			 2005 278.4 
			 Percentage 43.7 
		
	
	(87) Excludes pupils who were absent or unable to access the national curriculum tests
	(88) There are no national curriculum tests in ICT at the end of key stage 3. Results are published on the basis of teacher assessments.
	The Government's White Paper—Higher Standards, Better Schools for All—sets out our commitment to an extra investment of £565 million by 2007/08 to support personalisation in primary and secondary schools, focusing particularly on helping children who have fallen behind in English and mathematics. A further £60 million will be available in each of the next two years to provide effective one-to-one and small group tuition for the lowest attaining pupils.

University for Industry

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress has been made towards the establishment of the University for Industry included in the Government's 1997 manifesto; and if she will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Ufi (initially called the "University for Industry"), the organisation responsible for learndirect, has successfully pushed the boundaries of learning methods, by making innovative use of technology to make learning more flexible. It is the largest Government supported e-learning initiative in the world, and provides high quality learning for the post-16 learning and skills sector. It particularly reaches those with few or no skills and qualifications who are unlikely to participate in more traditional forms of learning.
	In eight years Ufi has grown from an idea to an organisation providing 500,000 learners a year with the opportunity to improve their skills at either a learndirect centre, or from work, or from their home computer. Through its national advice line it has dealt with over seven million calls. Almost 200,000 small and medium sized employers have also used learndirect services.

Year 11 Leavers

Edward Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many year 11 leavers in (a) West Yorkshire, (b) Wakefield District and (c) Normanton constituency have stayed on in learning each year since 2001.

Jacqui Smith: The percentage of 16-year-olds in full-time education in England at the end of 2004 was estimated to be 74.2 per cent.—the highest ever rate. Percentage figures on participation in education by young people are not available for parliamentary constituencies, but are available for local authorities—including Wakefield LEA and for West Yorkshire. These were published in the Statistical First Release "Participation in education and training by 16 and 17 year olds in each local area in England"—SFR11/2005 on 31 March 2005.
	The publication is accessible on the DfES website via the link, http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000568/index.shtml
	The specific figures are available through the following link: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000568/SFR11–2005tables_lea.xls

Alcohol Sales

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the estimated consumption per capita was of (a) beers and lagers, (b) wine and (c) spirits in the UK, in each of the last 10 years.

Ben Bradshaw: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table shows estimated average weekly purchases per person of beer, lager, wine and spirits by people aged 14 and over in UK households. Information on alcoholic drinks eaten out is not available until 2001–02 when the Expenditure and Food Survey replaced the National Food Survey. It should be noted that survey respondents may tend to underestimate the quantity of alcoholic drinks they purchase.
	
		UK household purchases of beer, lager, wine and spirits by people aged 14 and over ml per person per week
		
			  1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 
		
		
			 Beers and lagers   
			 Household purchases 413 429 445 415 401 473 471 460 503 478 
			 Eating out purchases(97) — — — — — — 759 716 673 623 
			 Total purchases — — — — — — 1,230 1,176 1,176 1,101 
			
			 Wine(98)   
			 Household purchases 198 206 219 241 241 716 270 267 287 302 
			 Eating out purchases(97) — — — — — — 24 24 25 26 
			 Total purchases — — — — — — 294 291 312 328 
			
			 Spirits(99)   
			 Household purchases 39 42 39 37 42 45 48 47 50 46 
			 Eating out purchases(97) — — — — — — 21 20 22 20 
			 Total purchases — — — — — — 69 67 72 66 
		
	
	(97) Quantity of alcohol eaten out is not available prior to 2001–02
	(98) Includes sparkling and non-sparkling wine, wine with mixers, champagne
	(99) Includes spirits, spirits with mixers, liqueurs, cocktails etc.
	Source:
	Defra, adjusted National Food Survey (1995 to 2000), Expenditure and Food Survey (2001–02 to 2004–05)

Community Banking

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress the Financial Inclusion Taskforce has made in evaluating the community banking model.

Ivan Lewis: The Financial Inclusion Taskforce was launched in February 2005 following the publication of "Promoting financial inclusion". The taskforce has been asked to monitor progress towards tackling financial exclusion and report to the Government on what more needs to be done. The terms of reference of the taskforce can be found on the taskforce website at www.financialinclusion-taskforce.org.uk. The taskforce will report to Treasury in due course.

Valuation Office Agency

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Valuation Office Agency owns a licence for an image management and archiving computer database.

Ivan Lewis: The Valuation Office Agency's information technology systems are provided by Capgemini under the "Aspire" contract with HM Revenue and Customs. All necessary licences for systems, including those for secure data storage, are obtained and held by Capgemini on the Agency's behalf.